Persistent photoconductivity of amorphous Hg_0.78Cd_0.22Te:In films

Abstract

The persistent photoconductivity (PPC) of amorphous Hg0.78Cd0.22Te: In films has been studied under illumination by super-bandgap light (a He-Ne laser, hv = 1.96 eV, 30 mW/cm2) and sub-bandgap light (1000 K Blackbody source, the largest photon energies hvp = 0.42 eV, 8.9 mW/cm2) in the range of 80-300 K. The persistent photoconductivity effect increases with increase in illumination intensity and illumination time. However, it decreases with increase in working temperature. The non-exponential decay of photoconductivity implies the presence of continuous distribution of defect states in amorphous Hg0.78Cd0.22Te: In films. These results indicate that the decay of photoconductivity is not governed by the carrier trapped in the intrinsic defects, but it may be due to light-induced defects under light illumination.