Thermal treatments of CdTe and CdZnTe detectors

An irreversible deterioration of CdTe and CdZnTe detectors after heat treatments in the temperature range of 150 - 200 degrees Celsius was reported by several authors; however, the nature of the processes responsible for the detector degradation and increased dark currents is not fully understood. In this study we have prepared CdTe and CdZnTe detectors equipped with Au contacts. The detectors were tested before and after thermal annealing under vacuum. Using combined measurements of current voltage characteristics, low temperature photoluminescence and nuclear spectroscopic measurements, we have attempted to differentiate between the various possible contributions to the detector degradation and elucidate the defect formation process involved.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.