This paper presents a study on the initiation and evolution of macrodefects in molecular beam epitaxy-grown two-color HgCdTe epitaxial layers on CdZnTe substrates. A combination of focused ion beam milling and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy was used to look at the defect cross-sections, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used to study the cross-sectional composition. This study shows that the classic microvoids tend to initiate at interfaces, such as the substrate/epitaxial layer interface and n–p junctions, because of nonoptimum growth conditions. Another class of microvoids was traced to Te precipitates existing in CdZnTe substrates. Large circular defects, occasionally seen on HgCdTe epitaxial layers, were traced to a tiny volatile particle on the substrate, which is believed to be organic in nature. Another large, irregularly shaped Te-rich defect is seen initiating abruptly during growth and is attributed to occasional outburst of Te clusters from effusion cells.
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Reddy, M., Wilde, J., Peterson, J.M. et al. Study of Macrodefects in MBE-Grown HgCdTe Epitaxial Layers Using Focused Ion Beam Milling. J. Electron. Mater. 41, 2957–2964 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2122-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2122-6