Indium-Hg vacancy interactions in Hg1−<i>x</i>Cd<i>x</i>Te measured by perturbed angular correlation

Abstract

The interaction of mercury vacancies with dopant indium atoms in Hg0.79Cd0.21Te was studied using the perturbed γγ angular correlation (PAC) technique. Two dominant PAC signals, characterized by quadrupole interaction strengths νQ1=83 MHz and νQ2= 91 MHz and asymmetry parameters η1=η2=0.08, were observed and attributed to one or more In-VHg complexes. The complexes appeared after annealing doped samples at T≥350 °C in vacuum and quenching. The fraction of In atoms associated with vacancies was increased further by annealing at 80 °C for ≳10 h. The In-vacancy complexes vanished on annealing in a Hg-saturated atmosphere.