Growth and characterization of as grown p-n junctions fabricated in multilayer liquid phase epitaxial (Hg, Cd)Te

(Hg,Cd) Te p-n junctions have been fabricated with growth of p-Hg1-yCdyTe on CdTe or (Cd,Zn)Te substrates followed by growth of n-Hg1-xCdxTe. Growths with x = y as well as x > y were attempted. p-n junctions formed in growths with x > y usually resulted in better detector performance. The as grown junctions have been characterized using Hall effect, EDAX, 300K transmission, diode spectral response, quantum efficiency, RoA, minority carrier lifetime and C-V measurements. Despite the absence of a heterojunction between the optically active p layer and the wider gap n layer, the superior detector performance in the as grown junctions where x > y, is attributable to the passivation the wider gap layer provides.