Method for growing an epitaxial layer of CdTe on an epitaxial layer of HgCdTe grown on a CdTe substrate

摘要

Disclosed is a method of growing a layer of CdTe on HgCdTe by liquid phase epitaxy. The solution for growth comprises Sn and Hg with a small amount of CdTe. A typical composition is Sn:Hg:CdTe=36:5:0.15 parts by weight. The growth temperature is a function of the amount of CdTe in solution. For the typical composition stated, the growth temperature is about 520 C. The layers were grown on (111)A oriented CdTe substrates. The HgCdTe epilayer with a desired Cd composition is first grown, and an epilayer of CdTe is subsequently grown on the HgCdTe epilayer. The cross-diffusion at the CdTe/Hg.sub.1-x Cd.sub.x Te interface has been as small as 0.3 m for the thin CdTe epilayer. The first CdTe/HgCdTe heterojunction sensitive to 2.8 m at 77K has been demonstrated.