Ultrahigh resistivity aluminum nitride grown on mercury cadmium telluride

Aluminum nitride insulating layers have been grown at room temperature with a film resistivity of 3.3x10(16) Omega cm on mercury cadmium telluride sub strates. Insulator breakdown fields of 640 MV/m were reached. Capacitance-v oltage measurements with Al/AlN/Hg0.76Cd0.24Te metalinsulator-semiconductor devices demonstrate band bending at the semiconductor surface indicating t hat damage to the substrate was minimized during film growth. A fixed inter face charge density (given here as total charge per unit area divided by th e electron charge=Q(ss)/q) of +2x10(11) cm(-2) and a slow interface state d ensity of 4x10(10) cm(-2) were measured. The procedures for achieving these high quality insulating layers are reported. Frequency dependent dielectri c constant and dielectric loss tangent measurements, carried out at room te mperature and 100 K, are also presented. (C) 2001 American Institute of Phy sics.