CHANGE IN THE ELECTRICAL-PROPERTIES OF CDTE SINGLE-CRYSTALS PRODUCED BY A SHOCK-WAVE FROM A LASER-PULSE

The changes induced in the electrical conductivity, photoluminescence, and dislocation structure of p-CdTe single crystals produced by a sho ck wave when laser radiation with power density similar to 10(8) W/cm( 2) interacts with an absorbing material are investigated. It is shown that the electrical conductivity of p-CdTe single crystals increases a t the moment the shock wave gasses and decreases after the shock wave has passed. The relaxation time of this process equals 156 mu s. As al e power density of the laser radiation increases, the number of disloc ations is observed to increase and this increase is correlated with th e increase in the residual resistance of the samples. A band associate d with the recombination of free carriers on extended defects appears at lambda = 840 nm in the photoluminescence spectrum after the passage of the shock wave. The residual changes in the conductivity are due t o the formation of stable lattice defects, The nature of the observed effects is analyzed. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.