Growth temperature effects on PECVD epitaxial HgTe.

Layers of mercury telluride were grown on single crystal cadmium telluride substrates at temperatures ranging from about 45C to 145C using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Properties of the layers were measured as a function of the growth temperature, while the gas flow rates and plasma parameters were held constant. X-ray diffraction measurements show all of the layers to be epitaxial. The electronic and structural properties improved with the increase in substrate temperature and reached a peak at about 85C; at this temperature, high quality epitaxial layers were obtained. The substrate temperature use in this study are the lowest at which epitaxial mercury telluride has ever been obtained by any technique.