<title>Vapor phase epitaxy growth of CdTe epilayers for RT x-ray detectors</title>

Abstract

We report on the growth of thick CdTe layers on ZnTe/(100) GaAs hybrid substrates by the novel H2 transport vapor phase epitaxy (H2T-VPE) method. High crystalline quality (100)-oriented CdTe single crystal epilayers can be fabricated under atmospheric pressure and at growth temperatures (TD) in the 600 - 800 degree Celsius interval. Double crystal X-ray diffraction measurements performed on epilayers thicker than 30 micrometer show CdTe (400) peaks with FWHM < 59 arcsec. Samples grown under optimized conditions exhibit mirror-like surfaces. Nominally undoped epilayers grown < 650 degrees Celsius are p-type and low resistive, but they turn n-type above 650 degrees Celsius, as a result of donor (likely Ga) diffusion from the substrate. RT resistivities ((rho) ) approximately 106 (Omega) (DOT)cm are obtained for 675 degrees Celsius < TD < 700 degrees Celsius, but (rho) decreases for higher temperatures and thinner samples. Layers grown under these conditions show RT electron concentrations in the 1014 - 1011 cm-3 range. The detection capability of H2T-VPE grown CdTe is demonstrated by time- of-flight measurements performed at RT on Au/n-CdTe/n+- GaAs diode structures under reverse bias conditions. The present results show the potentials of H2T-VPE for the growth of detector-grade CdTe.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.