Effects of sample processing on the performance of CdZnTe crystals

Due to the outstanding properties of CdZnTe materials, CdZnTe detectors have been the research focus for X- and gamma ray applications for many years. For CdZnTe detector fabrication heat treatments are often desirable. In order to provide detailed information of the CdZnTe crystal temperature tolerance during the detector fabrication procedure, and determine if performance degradations are from elevated temperatures or other processing steps, we tested the leakage current variation of raw CdZnTe crystals with temperature and during the crystal processing. The studies were conducted on (111)-oriented CdZnTe crystals provided by Yinnel Tech. Due to the 111 orientation, the CdZnTe crystals show a Cd rich side (A side) and a Te rich side (B side). These two sides revealed entirely different character variation. Preliminary experimental results are provided here