Mercury cadmium telluride sputtered target research

Techniques for fabricating large-area targets by pressing either a physical mixture of HgTe and CdTe powder particles (7 micron average size) or a similar-size powder ground from (Hg,Cd)Te polycrystalline ingots were developed. Sixty SEM microphotographs of regions of r.f. triode-sputtered targets, sputtered to different erosion depths, revealed topographical changes and dynamic erosion processes, e.g. cone formation and deterioration. The sputter-protect theory for cone formation due to larger, slow-sputtering particles (10-50 microns) was demonstrated. Distinctly different cone angle distributions for HgTe and CdTe particles were measured; X-ray powder patterns revealed fusion of smaller HgTe and CdTe particles.