Gamma-Ray Response of Semi-Insulating CdMnTe Crystals
Semi-insulating Cd0.9Mn0.1Te:In crystals are grown by vertical Bridgman method. The segregation coefficient of Mn in CdTe is nearly 1 so that all the CdMnTe samples obtained from one ingot have nearly a same Mn composition. Also sulfur-based passivation effectively prevent the formation of Te-oxide but large amount of Mn exist as a MnO on the CdMnTe surface. The resistivity of CdMnTe samples are low 1010 Omegacm and well resolved 241Am gamma peaks are seen for all detectors. The difference in spectral response can be attributed to the effect of excess Te and conductivity change due to over-compensation induced by indium segregation in CdMnTe. The mobility-lifetime products evaluated from the dependence of peak location on the bias voltage are 1 times 10-3 cm2/V. The higher mobility-lifetime products in our CdMnTe crystals than other previous reports are assumed due to minimization of impurity contents in MnTe by several zone refining process.
Is the (Cd,Mn)Te crystal a prospective material for X-ray and γ-ray detectors?
To answer the title question – the technology and properties of the (Cd,Mn)Te crystals is discussed as compared with those of the more commonly used (Cd,Zn)Te crystals. The composition homogeneity of the large single crystals of the ternary compound seems to be easier to achieve in the case of (Cd,Mn)Te because the segregation coefficient of Mn in CdTe is negligible with respect to that (approx. 1.3) of Zn. Only 15% of MnTe has to be added to CdTe to reach the best for the detector application value of the energy gap (in the range 1.7–2.2 eV), while the necessary amount of ZnTe is over 30%! This is because the composition dependence of the CdTe energy gap is for Mn twice as strong as for Zn. Using a smaller amount of the second cation diminishes many alloying-related problems. Dopant-free as grown (Cd,Mn)Te crystals are of p-type, which is related to the Cd vacancies acting as acceptors. The number of vacancies can be reduced by the post-growth annealing in the Cd vapours and the high (∼1010 Ωcm) resistivity, required for good detectors, can be obtained by doping with donors. The technology of the (Cd,Mn)Te crystals, undoped and compensated in the very large range of concentrations, and Cd-annealing of the samples is discussed. Characterization of the obtained crystals is described. The behaviour of the preliminary detectors is shown. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Growth from Solutions
Growth from solutions is the crystallization of a compound whose chemical composition differs markedly from that of the initial liquid phase. Commonly used solvents are water, multicomponent aqueous or nonaqueous solutions, and melts of some chemical compounds. Differentiations are made based on growth temperatures and on the chemical nature of the solvent. In growth from low-temperature aqueous solutions, the temperatures generally do not exceed 80–90°C; in growth from superheated aqueous solutions (hydrothermal method), they reach 800°C, and in growth from salt melts (molten-salt, flux, or fluxed melt growth), they usually do not exceed 1200–1300°C, but sometimes reach 1500°C.