Metal-insulator-semiconductor structures based on HgCdTe are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Near-surface graded-gap layers with high CdTe content are formed on both sides of the epitaxial HgCdTe film. Photoelectrical characteristics of these structures are studied experimentally and theoretically. For structures based on n-Hg-1 (-) xCdxTe (x = 0.21-0.23), the formation of a near-surface graded-gap layer leads to an increase in the differential resistance of the space charge region due to the suppression of tunneling. The temperature dependences of the differential resistance calculated with account to different mechanisms of generation of minority charge carriers are similar to the experimental dependences of the photoelectromotive force. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.