Mechanisms of incorporation of donor and acceptor dopants in (Hg,Cd)Te alloys

Abstract

The usefulness of the quasichemical approach in predicting the defect structure of undoped and doped (Hg,Cd)Te crystals is emphasized. To begin with, the defect structure of undoped (Hg,Cd)Te crystals is established along with mass action constants for the intrinsic excitation process and the formation of the dominant native acceptor defects. Subsequently, the defect structures of donor doped and acceptor doped (Hg,Cd)Te crystals are established. With the values of the mass action constants established for the undoped crystals along with those for the doped crystals, the concentrations of defects present at the high temperature are calculated along with the carrier concentrations expected in the cooled crystals. The results of the carrier concentration calculations are compared with the experimental values to verify the validity of the incorporation mechanisms established for the doped crystals.