Influence of plastic deformation on the photoconductivity of CdTe

Investigation of photoconductivity have been performed on p-type phosphorus doped CdTe (5 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³) deformed by compression at room temperature. Using a technique of axial illumination, the contribution of the surface to the photoconductivity is suppressed. In the investigated energy range (0.08–1.54 eV), and at room temperature, a maximum of the signal of the non-deformed material is of found at 1.312 ± 0.009 eV, with a half width of 0.100 eV, whereas the 0.3% deformed material presents a maximum at 1.348 ± 0.009 eV with the same half width. At 223 K these peaks are shifted to higher energies, the half width remaining unchanged, and the amplitudes being ∼ 30 times higher.