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The Influence of Thermal Treatment on Monocrystalline CZT and Tellurium Inclusions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2015

Jonathan Lassiter ,
Charles Payton ,
Maxx Jackson ,
Samuel Uba ,
Claudiu Muntele  and
Stephen Babalola
Jonathan Lassiter
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Charles Payton
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Maxx Jackson
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Samuel Uba
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
Claudiu Muntele
Affiliation:
Cygnus Scientific Services, Huntsville, AL
Stephen Babalola
Affiliation:
Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL
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Abstract

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT), considered as a viable material for use in room temperature radiation detectors, has an undesired presence of tellurium inclusions in the bulk. Thermal treatment, in the form of annealing, has been utilized to test the viability of refining CZT into better detector material, either by the elimination of the tellurium inclusions or by the migration of the inclusions under a temperature gradient, but usually with a deterioration of electrical properties. We took infrared micrographs and current voltage (IV) characteristics of CZT samples prior to thermal treatment. We carried out 24-hour thermal treatments with a range of temperature from 100°C to 700°C to determine an optimal annealing temperature and to verify changes in the sizes, morphologies, and locations of the tellurium inclusions on the surfaces and within the crystal bulk of the CZT. The IV curves and resistivities prior to and after thermal treatments were compared, as were the infrared micrographs before and after annealing. Also, the changes in electrical properties of the samples with annealing conditions were compared against structural changes monitored at the same steps during the annealing process, in order to understand the effects of the thermal annealing to the radiation detector properties of the material. Correlations between the shape, size and position of inclusions and electrical properties of the material were attempted.

Keywords

x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)II-VIannealing
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1792: Symposium CC/FF – Defects and Materials Issues in Semiconductors―Relationship to Optoelectronic Properties and Device Reliability , 2015 , mrss15-2136240
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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