Surface oxidative characterization of LPE HgCdTe epilayer studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The surface oxidative characterization of liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) HgCdTe epilayer was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). HgCdTe surface was exposed by various processing steps. It was found that the native oxide film can be reduced and removed by the solution of lactic acid in ethylene glycol after being etched by bromine in absolute ethyl alcohol. The main optical and electrical parameters have not been changed after the treatment and the native oxides of LPE HgCdTe epilayer have been removed to obtain a clean surface. It indicates that the pretreatment before HgCdTe surface passivation can affect the properties of passivant/HgCdTe interface.