Diffusion barriers at mercury--cadmium--telluride/metal interfaces: The case of Hg/sub 1-//sub x/Cd/sub x/Te(110)/Yb/Al

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.575498· OSTI ID:6976549

Raisanen, A; Wall, A; Chang, S; Philip, P; Troullier, N; Franciosi, A; Peterman, D J

The rare-earth metals Yb and Sm show unique reactive behavior on mercury--cadmium--telluride (MCT) surfaces, due to the large rare-earth affinity for both Hg and Te. Semiempirical calculations of thermodynamic parameters using Miedema's model suggest that the rare earths should act as effective diffusion barriers at the interface between MCT and prototypical reactive metals such as Al, In, or Cr. We present here a synchrotron radiation photoemission investigation of the effect of Yb interlayers at the Hg/sub 1-//sub x/Cd/sub x/Te(110)/Al junction. Our results indicate that layers of Yb are effective in preventing Al--Te reaction and reducing the Al-induced mercury depletion of the substrate. Our data confirm that such a diffusion barrier effect is the result of the superior thermodynamic stability of the MCT/Yb reaction products at the interface.

• Research Organization: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
• OSTI ID: 6976549
• Journal Information: J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States), Vol. 6:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DIFFUSION
CADMIUM TELLURIDES
ATOM TRANSPORT
DIFFUSION BARRIERS
FABRICATION
MERCURY TELLURIDES
YTTERBIUM
INTERFACES
PHOTOEMISSION
CADMIUM COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
MERCURY COMPOUNDS
METALS
NEUTRAL-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RARE EARTHS
SECONDARY EMISSION
TELLURIDES
TELLURIUM COMPOUNDS
360204* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Physical Properties