Atomic and electronic structure of CdTe/metal (Cu, Al, Pt) interfaces and their influence to the Schottky barrier

Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) and other features of the interfaces are determining factors for the performance of the CdTe based high-energy photon detectors. Although known for long time that SBH is sensitive to surface treatment and metal contact growth method, there is a lack of understanding of the effect of the atomic and electronic structures of CdTe/metal interface on the SBH. Employing first-principles electronic structure calculations, we have systematically studied the structural stability and electronic properties of a number of representing structures of Cd Terminated CdTe/metal (Cu, Pt, and Al) interfaces. Comparison of the total energies of the various optimized structural configurations allows to identify the existence of Te-metal alloy formation at the interface. The SBHs of Cu, Pt, and Al metal contacts with a number of stable interface structures are determined by aligning the band edges of bulk CdTe with the Fermi level of the metal/CdTe system. We find that the metal-induced states in the gap play an essential role in determining the SBH. Published by AIP Publishing.