Some recent advances in bulk growth of mercury cadmium telluride crystals

Abstract

The inherent metallurgical problems associated with the HgTe/CdTe pseudobinary alloy system render the standard crystal growth processes inapplicable to the preparation of mercury cadmium telluride crystals for infrared detector applications. A variety of rather nonconventional techniques have been developed to overcome these problems. Two such techniques, viz. asymmetrical Bridgman and horizontal casting for solid-state recrystallization, developed at Solid State Physics Laboratory for the bulk growth of mercury cadmium telluride crystals are reviewed in this communication.

Due to the poor thermal conductivity of mercury cadmium telluride melts and solids, and the use of thick-walled quartz ampuoles, it is extremely difficult to obtain a flat solid-liquid interface during Bridgman growth of this material. The technique of asymmetrical Bridgman has been successful in overcoming this problem to a great extent. Solid-state recrystallization has been widely accepted as one of the most successful techniques for obtaining large quantities of acceptable-quality mercury cadmium telluride crystals for infrared detector applications. This is a two-step process—the melt is first quenched to obtain a good cast, which is then subjected to a grain-growth annealing. The horizontal casting procedure developed for solid state recrystallization growth has been successful in improving the overall quality and yield of bulk mercury cadmium telluride crystals.