Crystal Defects in CdZnTe Crystals Grown by the Modified Low-Pressure Bridgman Method

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) is among the most promising materials for room-temperature X- and gamma-ray detectors. However, crystal defects such as Te inclusions and subgrain boundaries significantly hamper their performances. In this work, we evaluated CZT crystals grown by the modified low-pressure Bridgman technique at the IMEM Institute, Parma. We characterized the crystals by IR microscopy to identify the sizes and concentrations of the Te inclusions, along with high spatial resolution X-ray response mapping to measure the uniformity of their charge-transport properties. In addition, we employed white X-ray beam diffraction topography to analyze their crystalline structure.