Effect of Dislocations on VLWIR HgCdTe Photodiodes

The effects of dislocations on very-long-wavelength infrared (VLWIR) HgCdTe photodiodes (cutoff wavelength >14 μm at 40 K) have been determined experimentally and analyzed. The photodiodes are in the back-illuminated configuration, fabricated from HgCdTe p-on-n double-layer heterostructure (DLHJ) films grown at BAE Systems by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) onto lattice-matched (111) CdZnTe substrates. Arrays were hybridized to silicon ROICs to form focal plane arrays (FPAs). After characterization for dark current and response, the arrays were dehybridized and stripped of their metals and passivation layers. Dislocations were revealed using a Hähnert and Schenk (H&S) etch. Pixel traceability was maintained throughout the analysis, permitting one-to-one correlation between photodiode performance and dislocation density measured within that photodiode. We found that response and dark current were correlated to etch pit density (EPD), which we assumed to be equal to dislocation density. Our results support earlier dislocation studies on larger-bandgap HgCdTe, which showed response was only weakly impacted by EPD, while dark current was strongly affected by EPD. Measured EPD values ranged from low 105 to low 107 cm−2. Potential causes for this range in EPD are discussed.