Influence of annealing on the surface structure evolution of intrinsic p-type HgCdTe films.

Abstract

In this study, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the Hall effect were used to characterize the microscopic morphology, structural features and electrical properties of a HgCdTe film surface before and after annealing. The effect of annealing on the surface quality of the films was studied in detail. The results showed that the annealing treatment reduced the roughness, improve the denseness and uniformity and ameliorate the surface crystallinity. It also eliminated the defects, such as stress and stacking layer errors, caused by lattice distortion during the growth of the HgCdTe films. An increase in surface carrier concentration and mobility after annealing and improved electrical properties of the intrinsic p-type HgCdTe materials were also observed. It is therefore shown that annealing had a significant effect on improving the surface quality of HgCdTe films.