Defect formation in CdTe during laser-induced doping and application to the manufacturing nuclear radiation detectors

The peculiarities of electrical properties of In/CdTe/Au diodes, fabricated by the laser-induced doping procedure, have been studied. The measurements of time dependences of reverse biased current of a great number of different samples revealed three types of the leakage current density variations with time. These variations were attributed to proper CdTe defects as well as point and extended defects generated in the act of laser-induced doping of CdTe wafers and following fabrication of pixel detectors. The optimal conditions of laser-induced In-doping of CdTe wafers and formation of electrodes were elaborated. The fabricated detectors had sharp I-V characteristics with a low leakage current, possessed a high energy resolution at room temperature and showed promise for nuclear radiation imaging devices. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)