Growth, structure and electrical properties of mercury indium telluride single crystals

Abstract

A new zinc-blende type photoelectronic single crystal, Hg(3−3x)In2xTe3 (MIT), was grown by using the vertical Bridgman method. The structure of the MIT (x = 0.5) crystal was examined by x-ray powder diffraction. The lattice parameters were determined to be 6.2934 ± 0.0011 Å with a defect zinc-blende structure, which belongs to the group . The melting point of the MIT crystal was measured by using the differential scanning calorimetry. Hall effect measurements on electrical properties at room temperature show that resistivity, carrier density and mobility of MIT crystal were 4.79 × 102 Ω cm, 2.83 × 1013 cm−3 and 4.60 × 102 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. The electron effective mass at the bottom of the conduction band and the top of the valence band was calculated. It was found that the Fermi level of the MIT crystal was about 0.008 eV higher than that of the mid-gap. The experimental carrier concentration was in good accordance with the theoretical result.