Abstract

Images generated by Scanning Electron Mícroscopy (SEM) were used in order to compare epitaxial layers of lead telluride (PbTe), grown by Hot Wall Epitaxial technique (HWE) and Flash Evaporation (FE), directly over single-crystal silicon (Si) wafers, p-type. These heterojunctions are used as thermal infrared detectors, which work al room temperature. Infrared detectors are radiant energy transducers, which convert this energy in electric energy, and usually have to be cooled and kept at 77 K to work properly (1).