Hall-effect and resistivity measurements in CdTe and ZnTe at high pressure: Electronic structure of impurities in the zinc-blende phase and the semimetallic or metallic character of the high-pressure phases

Abstract

We carried out high-pressure resistivity and Hall-effect measurements in single crystals of CdTe and ZnTe up to 12 GPa. Slight changes in transport parameters in the zinc-blende phase of CdTe are consistent with the shallow character of donor impurities. Drastic changes in all the transport parameters of CdTe were found around 4 GPa, i.e., close to the onset of the cinnabar to rocksalt transition. In particular, the carrier concentration increases by more than five orders of magnitude. Additionally, an abrupt decrease in the resistivity was detected around 10 GPa. These results are discussed in comparison with optical, thermoelectric, and x-ray diffraction experiments. The metallic character of the $Cmcm$ phase of CdTe is confirmed and a semimetallic character is determined for the rocksalt phase. In zincblende ZnTe, the increase in the hole concentration by more than two orders of magnitude is proposed to be due to a deep-to-shallow transformation of the acceptor levels. Between 9 and 11 GPa, transport parameters are consistent with the semiconducting character of cinnabar ZnTe. A two-orders-of-magnitude decrease in the resistivity and a carrier-type inversion occur at 11 GPa, in agreement with the onset of the transition to the $Cmcm$ phase of ZnTe. A metallic character for this phase is deduced.