Electrical Characterization of Impurities in and Contacts on Mercuric Iodide

Abstract

ABSTRACTMercuric iodide (HgI2) is a semiconductor that has shown great promise for use in roomtemperature high-resolution x-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers. Its widespread usage has been limited, however, by low yield and long-term reliability problems. The processing of this material is still in its infancy compared to silicon, so research efforts continue to pursue the root causes of device failures. Two likely sources of performance limitations are impurities and poor contacts. Significant efforts have been expended in developing and using various purification schemes. However, quantitative chemical analyses have shown that several metallic impurities still exist at the high ppb level. In addition, it has not yet been definitively determined which impurities are most problematic and at what level they have a detrimental effect. Leakage currents and currentvoltage measurements have been used to study the movement of mobile impurity-related defect centers in the bulk mercuric iodide. In particular, this method has been used to quantify the drift of metallic impurities, such as Ag and Cu, which are known to or believed to degrade HgI2 detectors. Four-point-probe sheet resistance measurements have been used to study the stability of contacts and the formation of reaction layers. In particular, such measurements have revealed that the Pd contacts currently used for the highest quality detectors are not as stable as previously thought, as the films of Pd react with the HgI2 to form the amalgam PdHg.