Research Progress on Postgrowth Annealing of Cd1−xMnxTe Crystals

Cadmium manganese telluride (Cd1−xMnxTe, abbreviated CMT) crystals have high resistivity, wide bandgap and good carrier transport properties, as well as being superior to traditional CdZnTe crystals in some respects. Therefore, CMT crystals are promising materials for room‐temperature nuclear radiation detectors. However, as‐grown CMT crystals usually include many defects dominated by Te inclusions. These defects greatly affect the device performance. In this paper, main defects such as point defects, dislocations, and inclusions in CMT materials are summarized and discussed. Postgrowth annealing is used to reduce and eliminate defects. It is a great method to improve the properties of as‐grown crystals. Annealing process includes annealing method, atmosphere, temperature, and time. The research progress of annealing process on crystal quality, photoelectric properties, and detector performance is reviewed. Cd1−xMnxTe has become an ideal alternative material for nuclear radiation because of its unique advantages. In this paper, the main defects were reviewed in cadmium manganese telluride (CMT). These include point defects, dislocations, twins, inclusions, and so on. In order to improve crystal quality, annealing has become an important means of crystal processing. In the second part of this paper, the effects of annealing on crystal defects, photoelectric properties, and detector performance were reviewed.