Defect characterization of Cd0.9Zn0.1Te crystals using electron beam induced current (EBIC) imaging and thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements

Abstract

Semi-insulating Cd0.9Zn0.1Te nuclear detector grade crystals were grown by a low temperature solution method from in-house zone refined (~7N) precursor materials. The processed crystals from the grown ingot were thoroughly characterized by using a non-destructive electron beam induced current (EBIC) contrast imaging method. The EBIC results were correlated with the infrared (IR) transmittance mapping, which confirms the variation of contrasts in EBIC is due to non-uniform distribution of tellurium inclusions in the grown CZT crystal. Electrical characteristics of defect regions in the fabricated detectors were further investigated by I-V measurements, and thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements. Finally, to demonstrate the high quality of the grown CZT crystals, pulse height spectra (PHS) measurements were carried out using gamma radiation sources of 241Am (59.6 keV) and 137Cs (662 keV).