Investigation of dislocation migration in substrate-grade CdZnTe crystals during post-annealing

The migration of dislocations in substrate-grade CdZnTe (CZT) single crystals during temperature gradient annealing under Cd/Zn vapor has been investigated. The etch pit density (EPD) and configuration of dislocations have been evaluated before and after annealing in CZT crystals with and without Cd-rich second phase (Cd-SP) particles, respectively. After Cd/Zn overpressure annealing, dislocation reduction in CZT crystals was observed. However, dislocation walls with 120° intervals along <211> crystalline direction were observed in the both types of CZT crystals. The formation of these dislocation walls can be attributed to the reaction of <110> dislocations. Moreover, it is considered that the release of the restored stress during annealing act as the domain driving force for dislocation migration, by comparing the variation of dislocation configuration in CZT crystals with and without Cd-SP particles.