Research on development of low-resistance p-n junctions in ZnSe

The doping problems associated with making a low-resistance p-n junction in ZnSe were investigated using modern epitaxial and implantation techniques. Substantial evidence for the role of nitrogen as a 'new' shallow acceptor with an ionization energy of 85 + or - 5 meV was found, and a number of other acceptors were characterized. The behavior of background donors was studied; silicon and aluminum were found to be especially harmful contaminants. A ZnSe layer with a p-type conductivity of 1.5 x 10,000 ohm-cm was made. This is the lowest p-type resistivity in ZnSe for the case where the p-type character was definitely established.