Development of inclusion-free CdZnTe substrates from crystals grown by the vertical-gradient freeze method

With the aim of fabrication of (111) and (211) CdZnTe inclusion-free substrates for molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) growth of mercury cadmium telluride (MCT), we focused on fundamental research of the process of crystallization and cooling to room temperature. Based on the study of inclusion formation in dependence of Cd overpressure above the melt, an optimized process of crystal solidification was established. A key result of this study is the position of the Cd pressure, where inclusion-free crystals were fabricated without post-growth annealing. The crystals with a diameter of 100 mm and a height 40–50 mm were fabricated by the vertical-gradient freeze method (VGFM). The resulting ingots exhibit very good crystallographic quality, with a single-crystalline part filling 60–80% of the crystal volume. Substrates with orientation (111) and (211) and dimensions up to 4 × 4 cm were fabricated.