Ž . Applied Surface Science 154–155 2000 495–499 www.elsevier.nlrlocaterapsusc Electrical behaviour of HgCdTerSi heterostructures T.Ya. Gorbach a , P.S. Smertenko a, ) , S.V. Svechnikov a , M. Kuzma b , G. Wisz b , R. Ciach c a Institute of Semiconductor Physics, NASU, 45, prospekt Nauki, 252650 KyiÕ, Ukraine b Institute of Physics, Higher Pedagogical School, Rejtana 16a, 35-309 Rzeszow, Poland c Institute of Metallurgy and Material Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Reymonta 25, 30-059 Cracow, Poland Received 1 June 1999; accepted 23 August 1999 Abstract Ž . Ž . Ž . HgCdTerSi heterostructures HSs were obtained by pulsed laser deposition PLD on Si p- or n-type flat and patterned Ž . pyramid-like and plate-like substrate from p- or n-type HgCdTe target. The I – V characteristics of p–n and isotype HSs were investigated by the differential approach. This approach is based on monitoring of differential slope a of the I – V Ž . Ž . characteristics in log–log plot a sd lg Ird lgV . Influence of the substrate kind flat, pyramid-like or plate-like , type of Ž . conductivity, type of HS p–n or isotype and substrate resistivity were studied. In all cases, the main feature of the I – V characteristics behaviour was a s3r2. It means that the bimolecular recombination is the main recombination mechanism in all HSs types. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: HgCdTerSi heterostructure; Patterned Si substrate; I –V characteristic; Differential slope; Injection; Recombination 1. Introduction Ž . Hg Cd TerSi heterostructure HS technology 1yx x is a promising one for infrared optoelectronics. How- ever, there are many problems to produce such struc- tures with appropriate properties. To overcome the Ž . big lattice mismatch about 20% and difference in ) Corresponding author. Tel.: q 38-44-2656477; fax: q 38-44- 2658342. Ž E-mail address: smertenk@class.semicond.kiev.ua P.S. . Smertenko . Ž thermal expansion coefficients more than a factor of . 2 , the patterned Si substrates have been proposed w x 1–3 . In those works, the Hg Cd Te films were 1yx x Ž . obtained by pulsed laser deposition PLD . The in- fluence of PLD regimes and substrates type on the morphology, composition, growth defects, and trans- port in Hg Cd TerSi HS were studied. 1yx x As to electrical properties of Hg Cd TerSi 1yx x HSs, some peculiarities in I – V characteristics were Ž. observed: i the presence of Auger recombination with Kane effect in the forward direction for n- Ž. Hg Cd Terp-Si HS at room temperature; ii the 1yx x absence of rectification in the reverse direction for Ž . n-Hg Cd Terp-Si HSs; and iii enhancement of 1yx x conductivity due to the patterned substrate. 0169-4332r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S0169-4332 99 00414-6