The effect of hydrogen on the electrical properties of n-type Pb0.9Cd0.1Te thin films

Abstract Measurements of the Hall coefficient and the d.c. conductivity were made on flash evaporated n -type Pb 0.9 Cd 0.1 Te epitaxial films exposed to molecular hydrogen gas at high pressures (upto 500 psi) in the temperature range 77–300 K. It has been found that the effect of hydrogen on the films is to reduce the concentration of the extrinsic carriers and to increase their mobility. It is believed that hydrogen gas removes cadmium ions and neutral cadmium atoms from these films.