Comments on the composition of anodic films on Hg0.8Cd0.2Te

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Abstract
The composition of anodic films on Hg0.8Cd0.2Te is reinvestigated and it is argued that the use of ion sputtering (e.g., as a depth profiling technique) significantly perturbs the chemical structure of these films within the probing depths of electron spectroscopy (AES and XPS). Evidence for this argument is given by a detailed study of HgTeO3 which is suggested as the dominant mercury constituent of anodic films on Hg1−xCdxTe. HgTeO3 was grown by a horizontal Bridgman method and obtained in a triclinic modification. Its XPS data were compared with those of electrochemically grown native oxide on HgTe. A very close correspondence between the two sets of XPS data was observed which implies that HgTeO3 is presumably the only major constituent of anodic films on HgTe. After exposure to ion sputtering (1–3 keV Ar ions) HgTeO3 and the anodic oxide on HgTe were found to exhibit a significant mercury depletion and a large accumulation of TeO2 (sputter artifact) in the XPS-probed surface and subsurface region. Taking this effect of the ion bombardment into account we re-examined previous quantitative XPS depth profiles of anodic films on Hg0.8Cd0.2Te and conclude that these films are mainly composed of HgTeO3 and CdTeO3.

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