Electrodeposition of crystalline HgTe from a non-aqueous plating bath

This paper presents a method for the electrodeposition of stoichiometric, crystalline HgTe, which provides advantages over conventional HgTe preparation techniques, such as physical and chemical vapor deposition, in a number of ways; e.g. fast deposition rates (2 mm/hr) and the ability to reliably produce stoichiometric or near-stoichiometric material. The HgTe is prepared in a dichloromethane based plating bath using [NnBu4]2[TeCl6] and [NnBu4]2[HgCl4] as the precursors for Te and Hg, respectively. The paper details the electrochemical behavior of the plating bath and its components, together with a detailed characterization of the morphology, crystallinity and composition of the prepared HgTe.