Melt growth and post‐grown annealing of semiinsulating (CdZn)Te by vertical gradient freeze method

We present results of development of CdZnTe semi‐insulating crystals prepared by Vertical Gradient Freeze method in a 4‐zone furnace. We applied the way of growth of the crystal from the top when the first crystallization seed is created on the surface of the melt. The typical height of the crystals is 5 cm. Resistivity and photoconductivity profiles measured along the growth axis by contactless method are compared and their mutual correlation is explained based on a model of relative shift of the Fermi level and the midgap level present in the material. The influence of the Fermi level on electron trapping and recombination is summarized. We present here results of a two‐step annealing method aimed at reduction of Te inclusions while keeping the resistivity high. We employed CdTe:Cl VGF grown samples to eliminate Te inclusions observed in as grown crystals by two‐step post grown annealing in Cd and Te atmosphere and present a model of the processes leading to high resistivity material after annealing.