Bridgman-grown (Cd,Mn)Te and (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se): A comparison of suitability for X and gamma detectors

Sensors 24 (2024) 345 This study explores the suitability of semi-insulating compounds, specifically (Cd,Mn)Te and (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se), as materials for room temperature X-ray and gamma-ray detectors. These compounds were grown using the Bridgman method, known for its efficient growth rate. The investigation aims to compare their crystal structure, mechanical properties, optical characteristics, and radiation detection capabilities. The addition of selenium to (Cd,Mn)Te increased the compound's hardness. However, (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se) exhibited one order of magnitude higher etch pit density compared to (Cd,Mn)Te. Photoluminescence analysis at low temperatures revealed the presence of defect states in both materials, characterized by shallow and deep donor-acceptor pair transitions (DAP). Annealing in cadmium vapors effectively eliminated DAP luminescence in (Cd,Mn)Te but not in (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se). Spectroscopic performance assessments indicated that the (Cd,Mn)Te detector outperformed the (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se) detector in responding to a Co-57 source. The reduced performance in the latter case may be attributed to either the presence of a deep trap related to deep DAP luminescence, minimally affected by annealing, or the dominant presence of block-like structures in the samples, as indicated by X-ray diffraction measurements. The block-like structures in (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se) showed ten times larger misorientation angles compared to the (Cd,Mn)Te crystals. (Cd,Mn)Te crystal revealed excellent single crystal properties, demonstrated by narrower omega scan widths. The study also highlights the influence of grain boundaries and twins on crystal structure quality. In our opinion, Bridgman-grown (Cd,Mn)Te shows greater promise as a material for X-ray and gamma-ray detectors compared to (Cd,Mn)(Te,Se).