Influence of complex impact of the picosecond electron beam and volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air on the electronic properties of MCT epitaxial films surface

In the present report we studied the distribution of surface potential of the HgCdTe epitaxial films grown by molecular beam epitaxy after the impact of picosecond electron beam and volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air. The surface potential distribution was studied by the Kelvin Force Probe Microscopy. The experimental data obtained for the variation of the contact potential difference (ΔCPD) between the V-defect and the main matrix of the epitaxial film. The investigation of the origin epitaxial films show that variation of the spatial distribution of surface potential in the V-defect region can be related to the variation of the material composition. The experimental data obtained for the irradiated samples show that the mean value of ΔCPD for the original surface differs from the one for the irradiated surface for 55 eV. At the same time the mean value of ΔCPD changes its sign indicating that the original surface of the epitaxial HgCdTe film predominantly contains the grains with increased cadmium content while after the irradiation the grains possess an increased content of mercury. Therefore, during the irradiation process a decrease of the mercury content in the near-surface region of the semiconductor takes place resulting in the alteration of the electrophysical properties in the films near-surface region. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only