Low resistance Ohmic contacts for p‐type ZnTe

Low resistance Ohmic contacts of Au(Pt)Pd to p‐ZnTe were studied. The specific contact resistance of these contacts depends strongly on the annealing temperature and the Pd layer thickness. The specific contact resistance, measured by the transmission line model, is as low as 5×10−6 Ω cm2 when a sample is annealed at 200 °C. The optimum Pd layer thickness is 5–10 nm. This value of the specific contact resistance is two orders of magnitude lower than that of Au or Pt contacts to p‐ZnTe. The depth profiles of these contacts were investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy. The possible role of the Pd layer is discussed.