Abstract
Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns of HgCdTe surfaces etched with bromine methanol are diffuse with a faint ring pattern indicative of an overlayer consisting of a mixture of oxides and amorphous Te. Exposure to an atomic hydrogen flux results in a RHEED pattern indicative of a high quality, two-dimensional surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements indicate a rms surface roughness less than 1 nm. CdTe grown on this surface at 80°C maintains the streaky RHEED pattern and smooth surface as indicated by AFM. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicate that the etched surfaces contain both an oxide layer and a metallic Te overlayer which were removed by continued exposure to atomic hydrogen. Further exposure results in significant HgTe depletion, which appears to be a near-surface phenomenon. Preliminary device results indicate that use of atomic hydrogen is a viable approach for low temperature cleaning of etched HgCdTe surfaces.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
E.J. Petit and F. Houzay, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 12, 547 (1994).
T. Sugaya and M. Kawabe, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 30, L402 (1991).
M. Yamada, Y. Ide and K. Tone, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, L1157 (1992).
Y. Okada, T. Fujita and M. Kawabe, Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 676 (1995).
H. Shimomura, Y. Okada and M. Kawabe, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, L628 (1992).
H. Shimomura, Y. Okada, H. Matsumoto, M. Kawabe, Y. Kitami and Y. Bando, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32, 631 (1993).
Y.J. Chun, Y. Okada and M. Kawabe, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32, L1085 (1993).
C.M. Rouleau and R.M. Park, J. Appl. Phys. 73, 4610 (1993).
Y. Luo, D.A. Slater and R.M. Osgood, Jr., Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 55 (1995).
Zhonghai Yu, S.L. Buczkowski M.C. Petcu, N.C. Giles and T.H. Myers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 68, 529 (1996).
Zhonghai Yu, S.L. Buczkowski, N.C. Giles and T.H. Myers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 82 (1996).
Zhonghai Yu, S.L. Buczkowski L.S. Hirsch and T.H. Myers, J. Appl. Phys. 80, 6425 (1996).
C.D. Stinespring, J.M. Lannon Jr., J.S. Gold, M. Guntu and S. Kumar Surface Modification Technologies IX, eds. T.S. Sudarshan, W. Reitz and J. Stiglich, (Warrendale, PA: The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, 1996), p. 565.
J.F. Moulder, W.F. Stickle, P.E. Sobol and K.D. Bomben, Handbook of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, (Eden Prairie, MN: Physical Electroncis, Inc. 1995), p. 25.
H.M. Nitz, O. Ganschow, U. Kaiser, L. Wiedmann and A. Benninghoven, Surf. Sci. 104, 365 (1981).
A.B. Christie, I. Sutherland and J.M. Walls, Surf. Sci. 135, 225 (1983).
Atomic Hydrogen Source: Users Guide, (Minneapolis, MN: EPI, 1995).
L.S. Hirsch, Zhonghai Yu, S.L. Buczkowski, T.H. Myers and M.R. Richards-Babb, J. Electron. Mater. 26, 534 (1996).
T.S. Sun, S.P. Buchner and N.E. Byer, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 17, 1067 (1980).
S.W. Garentroom and N. Winograd, J. Chem. Phys. 67, 3500 (1977).
W.E. Swartz, K.J. Wynne and D.M. Hercules, Anal. Chem. 43, 1884 (1971).
S. Svensson, N. Martensson, E. Basilier and P.A. Malmqvist, J. Electron. Spectrosc. Relat. Phenom. 9, 51 (1976).
D. Briggs and M.P. Seah, Practical Surface Analysis Vol. 1 (Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, 1990), p. 207.
R.C. Keller, M. Seelmann-Eggbert and H.J. Richter, Appl. Phys. Lett 67, 3750 (1995); R.C. Keller, M. Seelmann-Eggbert and H.J. Richter, J. Electron. Mater. 24, 1155 (1995).
G.D. Davis, N.E Byer, R.A. Riedel, R.R. Daniels and G. Margaritondo, J. Vac. Sci. Technol A 3, 203 (1985).
T.H. Myers, A.N. Klymachyov, C.M. Vitus, N.S. Dalal, D.E. Endres, K.A. Harris, R.W. Yanka and L.M. Mohnkern, Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 224 (1995).
J.G. Werthen, J.P. Haring and R.H. Bube, J. Appl. Phys. 54, 1159 (1983).
U. Slosbach and H.J. Richter, Surf. Sci. 97, 191 (1980).
M.K. Bahl, R.L. Watson and K.J. Irgolic, J. Chem. Phys. 66, 5526 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirsch, L.S., Ziemer, K.S., Richards-Babb, M.R. et al. The use of atomic hydrogen for low temperature oxide removal from HgCdTe. J. Electron. Mater. 27, 651–656 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-998-0030-6
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-998-0030-6