Characterization of Dislocations in (112)B HgCdTe/CdTe/Si

The electrical performance of HgCdTe/Si photodiodes is shown not to have a direct relationship with the dislocation density as revealed by defect etching. This has led to an equivalent circuit model to explain the relationship of the dislocation density and the electrical test data. A new (112)B HgCdTe/CdTe/Si and CdTe/Si etch pit density (EPD) etch has been demonstrated. The new etch has been used to look for distinctive features which may be responsible for the poor electrical performance of individual diode pixels. The new etch chemistry also reduces the surface roughness of the etched epilayer and makes EPD determination less problematic. The new (to HgCdTe) technique of electrostatic force microscopy has also been used to analyze the electrical properties of dislocations.