Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Wide gap II-VI compound semiconductors are difficult to be doped amphoterically. After more than thirty years of research in II-VI compound semiconductors, there does not even exist a satisfatory simultaneous explanation as to why ZnSe can be easily doped n-type while undoped ZnTe only exhibits p-type conductivity. In this paper we propose an explanation based on the III-V/II-VI analogy which for the first time can explain these phenomena, and provide solutions to the problem of doping II-VI compound semiconductors.