Aging effects and Auger depth profiling studies of Sb/n-CdTe contacts

Sb layers on chemically etched n-CdTe provide noise-free electrical contacts suitable for various electronic devices. These interfaces produce Schottky barriers of approximately 0.94 eV with excellent rectification properties. In this work we have studied the stability of these contacts in detail under normal laboratory conditions. The results reveal that a gradual reduction of their rectification property is due to an increase in series resistance and a large contribution from recombination and generation current, We have also carried out Auger depth profiling through these interfaces to study their compositional structure after aging. In-diffusion of Sb and out-diffusion of both Cd and Te is observed for these interfaces. We consider the implications of these microscopic interactions on the macroscopic electrical properties of the Sb/n-CdTe interfaces.