Semiconducting Properties of TI2Te3 Single Crystals

Electrical conductivity and Hall effect measurements were performed on single crystals of TI₂Te₃ to have the general semiconducting behaviour of this compound. The measurements were done at the temperature range 160–350 K. All crystals were found to be of p-type conductivity. The values of the Hall coefficient and the electrical conductivity at room temperature were 1.59 × 10³ cm³/coul and 3.2 × 10⁻² ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹, respectively. The hole concentration at the same temperature was driven as 39.31 × 10¹¹ cm⁻³. The energy gap was found to be 0.7 eV where the depth of impurity centers was 0.45 eV. The temperature dependence of the mobility is discussed.     

Crystal Data,Electrical Resisitivity and Mobility in Cu3In5Se9 and Cu3In5Te9 Single Crystals

X-ray powder diffraction data were obtained for Cu₃In₅Se₉ and Cu₃Te₉, which were found to crystallize in orthorhombic and tetragonal systems, respectively. The electrical resistivities and Hall mobilities of these compounds were investigated in the temperature range 35–475 K. Cu₃In₅Se₉, was identified to be n-type with a room temperature resistivity of 3 × 10³ Ω·cm which decreases with increasing temperature. For T < 65 K impurity activation energy of 0.03 eV and for T > 350 K onset of intrinsic conduction yielding a band gap energy of 0.99eV were detected. The neutral impurity scattering was found to dominate at low temperatures, while in the high temperature region thermally activated mobility was observed. Cu₃In₅Te₉ exhibits p-type conduction with a room temperature resistivity of 8.5 × 10⁻³ Ω·cm decreasing sharply above 400 K and yielding an impurity ionization energy of 0.13 eV. The temperature dependence of mobility indicates the presence of lattice and ionized impuritiy scattering mechanisms above and below 160 K, respectively.     

Structural and Electrical Characterization of Ag3Ga5Te9 and Ag3In5Se9 Crystals

X-ray powder diffraction studies revealed that Ag₃Ga₅Te₉ and Ag₃In₅Se₉ crystallize in orthorhombic and tetragonal systems, respectively. The temperature dependent conductivity and Hall effect measurements have been carried out between 65—480 K. Ag₃Ga₅Te₉ exhibits p-type conduction with a room temperature conductivity of 4.3 × 10^—4 (Ω · cm)^—1 and mobility less than 1 cm²/V · s. Ag₃In₅Se₉ was identified to be n-type with room temperature conductivity 7.2 × 10^—5 (Ω · cm)^—1 and mobility 20 cm²/V · s. From temperature dependence of the conductivity three different impurity ionization energies were obtained for both compounds. The anomalous behavior observed in the temperature dependence of mobility was attributed to the different features of the microstructure.     

Single Crystal Growth and Electrical Properties of Gallium Monotelluride

Single crystals of GaTe were prepared in our laboratory by a special modified Bridgman technique method. Measurements of the electrical conductivity and Hall effect between 210 and 450 K were carried out on GaTe samples in two crystallographic directions. The Hall coefficient is positive and varies with the crystallographic direction. A unique mobility behaviour and strong anistropy in the carrier mobility were observed. The Hall mobilities parallel and perpendicular to the C-axis, at room temperature, were 12 cm/V · s and 25.12 cm²/V ·s, respectively. The free carrier concentration lies between 10¹³ − 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ at room temperature.     

Thermoelectric properties of indium sesquiselenide single crystals

Single crystals of δ-In₂Se₃ were prepared in the solid state laboratory at Qena-Egypt, by means of Bridgman technique. The temperature dependence of the thermal e.m.f. α in the temperature range from 205 K up to 360 K of In₂Se₃ was studied. The δ-phase In₂Se₃ sample appeared to be n-type. The ratio of the electron and hole mobilities are found to be μ_n/μ_p = 1.378. The effective masses of charge carriers are m = 1.3 × 10⁻³⁰, m = 8.27 × 10⁻³¹ kg for holes and electrons, respectively. The diffusion coefficient was estimated to be D_n = 3.37 cm²/s and D_p = 2.45 cm²/s for both electrons and holes, respectively. The mean free time between collision can be deduced to be τ_n = 70 × 10⁻¹⁶ s and τ_p = 8 × 10⁻¹⁴ s for both electrons and holes. The diffusion length of the electrons and holes are found to be L_n = 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ cm and L_p = 4.4 × 10⁻⁷ cm.     

Temperature dependence of electrical conductivity and hall effect of Ga2Se3 single crystal

Electrical conductivity (σ) and Hall coefficient (R_H) of single crystal grown from the melt have been investigated over the temperature range from 398 K to 673 K. Our investigation showed that our samples are p-type conducting. The dependence of Hall mobility an charge carrier concentration on temperature were presented graphically. The forbidden energy gap was calculated and found to be 1.79 eV. The ionization energy of impurity level equals 0.32 eV approximately. At 398 K the mobility equals to 8670 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and could described by the law μ = aTⁿ (n = 1.6) in the low temperature range. In the high temperature range, adopting the law μ = bT^–m (as m = 1.67), the mobility decreases. This result indicates that in the low temperature range the dominant effect is scattering by ionized impurity atoms, whereas in the high temperature range the major role is played by electron scattering on lattice vibrations (phonons). At 398 K the concentration of free carriers showed a value of about 1.98 × 10⁷ cm⁻³.     

Thermoelectric power of indium sesquisulphide single crystals

The investigation covers a temperature range from 200 to 450 K. Thermoelectric power measurements of In₂S₃ crystals showed that all samples under investigation have a positive TEP in all temperature ranges, indicating n-type conductivity for In₂S₃ crystals. The ratio of the electron and hole mobilities is μ_n/μ_p = 4.71. The effective mass of electrons m is found to be 0.00008 × 10⁻³¹ kg. The obtained effective masses of holes m = 1.893 × 10⁻³¹ kg. The diffusion coefficient for both carriers (electrons and holes) is evaluated to be 84.71 cm²/s and 17.985 cm²/s respectively. The mean free time between collision is estimated to be τ_n = 1.7 × 10⁻²⁰s, and τ_p = 8.5 × 10⁻¹⁷s. The estimated diffusion length for electrons is found to be L_n = 1.2 × 10⁻⁹ cm and L_p = 3.9 × 10⁻⁸ cm.     

Crystal growth and spectral properties of Nd:Ca5(BO3)3F

A neodymium doped Ca₅(BO₃)₃F single crystal with size up to 51×48×8 mm³ has been grown by the top seeded solution growth (TSSG) technique with a Li₂O‐B₂O₃‐LiF flux. The spectra of absorption and fluorescence were measured at room temperature. According to Judd‐Ofelt (J‐O) theory, the spectroscopic parameters were calculated and the J‐O parameters Ω₂, Ω₄, Ω₆ were obtained as follows: Ω₂ = 1.41×10⁻²⁰cm², Ω₄ = 3.18×10⁻²⁰cm², Ω₆ = 2.11×10⁻²⁰cm². The room temperature fluorescence lifetime of NCBF was measured to be 51.8 μs. According to the J‐O paramenters, the emission probabilities of transitions, branching ratios, the radiative lifetime and the quantum efficiency from the Nd^{3+ 4}F_3/2 metastable state to lower lying J manifolds were also obtained. In comparasion with other Nd‐doped borate crystals, the calculated and experimental parameters show that NCBF is a promising SFD crystal.     

The molecular and crystal structure of 2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine-acetamide

C₆H₁₀N₂O₂, P1 , a = 6,607(2) Å, b = 8,538(2) Å, c = 6,392(2) Å, α = 102,43(2)°, β = 91,11(2)°, y = 79,82(2)°, V = 349,1 ų, Z = 2, D_m = 1,36 g × cm⁻³, D_x = 1,35 g × × cm⁻³, MoKα radiation, λ = 1.71069 Å, μ(MoKα) = 1.11 cm⁻¹. The structure was solved by direct methods. The parameters were refined by full matrix least squares technique to a final R = 0.088 for 834 reflections with ∥F₀∥ > 4σ(F₀). The dihedral angle between the least-squares plane through the pyrrolidine ring and that through the acetamide group is 90.4°. The N H … O hydrogen bonds connect molecules to form bands parallel to the z axis.     

Thermoelectric Behaviour of Some Phases in the In?Se System

The differential e.m.f. of In₆Se₇ single crystals as a function of temperature have been measured. The electron to hole mobility ratio is determined to be μ_n/μ_p = 3.62. The effective masses of electrons and holes are 4.21 × 10⁻³³ kg and 9.01 × 10⁻²⁹ kg, respectively. The diffusion coefficient for holes and electrons as well as the diffusion length of free charge carriers have been determined.     

Thermoelectric properties of Tl‐doped Bi2Se3 single crystals

The single crystals of the ternary system based on Bi_2‐xTl_xSe₃ (nominaly x = 0.0‐0.1) were prepared using the Bridgman technique. Samples with varying content of Tl were characterized by the measurement of lattice parameters, electrical conductivity σ_⊥c , Hall coefficient R_H (B∥c), and Seebeck coefficient S (ΔT ⊥c). The measurements indicate that by incorporating Tl in Bi₂Se₃ one lowers the concentration of free electrons and enhances their mobility. This effect is explained in terms of the point defects in the crystal lattice – formation of substitutional defects thallium on the site of bismuth Tl_Bi and the decrease of concentration of selenium vacancies V_Se⁺². We also discuss the temperature dependence of the power factor σS² of the samples. Upon the thallium doping we observe a significant increase of the power factor compare to the parental Bi₂Se₃. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Characterisation of Bi2Se3 Crystals Highly Doped with Pb

Pb-doped Bi₂Se₃ crystals were prepared from starting elements Bi, Se and Pb of 5N purity in the concentration interval c_pb = 0 – 4 × 10²⁵ Pb atoms m⁻³ by a modified Bridgman method. The measured values of the transmittance and reflectance were used to determine the dependence of the absorption coefficient K on the photon energy for crystals with various values of cpb and to prove the shift of the short-wavelength absorption edge with cpb. On the basis of the assumption of the validity of the “single valley” model, which can describe the lowest conductivity band of Bi₂Se₃, and using the values of the freecarrier effective mass in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the trigonal axis c we determined the value of the reduced Fermi energy η 300 K for crystals with various values of cpb. Using the value of η, we calculated the dependence of the Seebeck coefficient on cpb and compared it with the experimentally determined values. The comparison has shown that the increasing content of Pb atoms in the Bi₂Se₃ lattice leads to a suppression of the role of the mechanism of scattering by ionised impurities; at higher concentrations of Pb in the crystal the mechanism of scattering of free carriers by acoustic phonons becomes dominant. Further, the ideas on the nature of the point defects in the Bi₂Se₃(Pb) crystals are presented and the “anomalous” dependence of the free-electron concentration on cpb is qualitatively accounted for.     

Properties of AgGa1‐xInxSe2 single crystals grown by Bridgman method

High‐pure and single‐phase AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) polycrystalline was synthesized by the mechanical and temperature oscillation method. Adopting the modified Bridgman method an integral AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ single crystal with diameter of 14 mm and length of 35 mm has been obtained at the rate of 6 mm/day. It was found that there is a new cleavage face which was (101), and observed the four order X‐ray spectrum of the {101} faces. By the method of DSC analysis the melting and freezing points of the AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) single crystal were about 828°C and 790°C. The transmission spectra of the AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) sample of 5×6×2 mm³ were obtained by means of UV and IR spectrophotometer. The limiting frequency was 774.316nm and the band gap was 1.6eV. It can be found in the infrared spectrum that the infrared transmission was above 60% from 4000cm^‐1 to 600cm^‐1. The value of α in 5.3µm and 10.6µm were 0.022cm^‐1 and 0.1cm^‐1 respectively. All results showed that the crystal was of good quality. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency in vapor deposited Sb2Te3 and Sb1.8In0.2Te3 crystals

Pure and indium doped antimony telluride (Sb₂Te₃) crystals find applications in high performance room temperature thermoelectric devices. Owing to the meagre physical properties exhibited on the cleavage faces of melt grown samples, an attempt was made to explore the thermoelectric parameters of p‐type crystals grown by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The crystal structure of the grown platelets (9 mm× 8 mm× 2 mm) was identified as rhombohedral by x‐ray powder diffraction method. The energy dispersive analysis confirmed the elemental composition of the crystals. The electron microscopic and scanning probe image studies revealed that the crystals were grown by layer growth mechanism with low surface roughness. At room temperature (300 K), the values of Seebeck coefficient S (⊥ c) and power factor were observed to be higher for Sb_1.8In_0.2Te₃ crystals (155 μVK⁻¹, 2.669 × 10⁻³ W/mK²) than those of pure ones. Upon doping, the thermal conductivity κ (⊥ c) was decreased by 37.14% and thus thermoelectric efficiency was improved. The increased figure of merit, Z = 1.23 × 10⁻³ K⁻¹ for vapour grown Sb_1.8In_0.2Te₃ platelets indicates that it could be used as a potential thermoelectric candidate.     

Carrier Scattering Mechanisms in GaS0.5Se0.5 Layered Crystals

Systematic dark electrical resistivity and Hall mobility measurements have been carried out in the temperature range 150‐400 K on n‐type GaS_0.5Se_0.5 layered crystals. The analysis of temperature dependent electrical resistivity and carrier concentration reveals the extrinsic type of conduction with a donor impurity level located at 0.44 eV, donor and acceptor concentrations of 3.4 ×10¹⁷ and 4.1×10¹⁶ cm^‐3, respectively, and an electron effective mass of 0.41 m₀. The Hall mobility is limited by the electron‐phonon short‐range interactions scattering at high temperatures combined with the ionized impurity scattering at low temperatures. The electron‐phonon short‐range interactions scattering mobility analysis reveals an electron‐phonon coupling constant of 0.25 and conduction band deformation potential of 5.57 eV/Å.     

The growth of high-quality MCT films by MBE using in-situ ellipsometry

The ellipsometry and RHEED study of high-quality MCT films grown on (112)- and (130) CdTe and GaAs by MBE was carried out. The dependence of the ellipsometric parameter ψ on MCT composition is evaluated. It was shown that such parameters as growth rate, the surface roughness, initial substrate temperature, and film composition may be measured by the in-situ ellipsometry. The appearance of surface roughness was observed in the initial stage of MCT growth under various compositions (x_CdTe = 0 ÷ 0.4). The further growth at optimum conditions leads to the smoothing of the surface and supplies us with high-quality MCT films. The concentration, mobility, and life time of carriers in MCT films were respectively: n = 1.8 × 10¹⁴ ÷ 8.2 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³, μ_n = 44000 ÷ 370000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, τ_n = 40 ÷ 220 ns; p = 1.8 × 10¹⁵ ÷ 8.4 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³, μ_p = 215 ÷ 284 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, τ_p = 12 ÷ 20 ns.     

Crystal structure of marmesin,C14H14O4, 2-(β-hydroxyisopropyl)-2,3-dihydro-6,7-furano-coumarin

The unit cell parameters of this compound were determined by least-squares calculations from the adjusted angular setting of 25 general reflections. The crystals are monoclinic with the following crystallographic data: a = 5.718(1), b = 13.794(4), c = 7.861(1) Å, β = 100.53(2)°, Z = 2 and D_x = 1.34 g · cm⁻³. The space group according to the systematic absences is P2₁. The structure of this compound was solved by direct methods and refined by full matrix least-squares with anisotropic temperature factors to R = 0.04. The refined atomic positions indicate a considerable strain within the molecule. The structure is built up from molecules connected by H-atoms forming infinite chains along b-axis.     

Electrical properties of nitrogen implanted GaSe single crystal

N‐implantation to GaSe single crystals was carried out perpendicular to c‐axis with ion beam of 6 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm² dose having energy values 30 keV and 60 keV. Temperature dependent electrical conductivities and Hall mobilities of implanted samples were measured along the layer in the temperature range of 100‐320 K. It was observed that N‐implantation decreases the resistivity values down to 10³ Ω‐cm depending on the annealing temperature, from the room temperature resistivity values of as‐grown samples lying in the range 10⁶‐10⁷ Ω‐cm. The temperature dependent conductivities exhibits two regions (100‐190 and 200‐320 K) with the activation energies of 234‐267 meV and 26‐74 meV, for the annealing temperatures of 500 and 700 °C, respectively. The temperature dependence of Hall mobility for the sample annealed at 500 °C shows abrupt increase and decrease as the ambient temperature increases. The analysis of the mobility‐temperature dependence in the studied temperature range showed that impurity scattering and lattice scattering mechanisms are effective at different temperature regions with high temperature exponent. Annealing of the samples at 700 °C shifted impurity scattering mechanism toward higher temperature regions. In order to obtain the information about the defect produced by N‐implantation, the carrier density was analyzed by using single donor‐single acceptor model. We found acceptor ionization energy as E_a = 450 meV, and acceptor and donor concentration as 1.3 × 10¹³ and N_d = 3.5 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻³, respectively. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Temperature dependences of the electrical conductivity and hall coefficient of indium telluride single crystals

Conductivity type, carrier concentration and carrier mobility of InTe samples grown by Bridgmann technique were determined by the Hall effect and electrical conductivity measurements. The study was performed in the temperature range 150–480 K. Two samples with different growth rate were used in the investigation. The samples under test were P-type conducting, in accordance with previous measurements of undoped material. The Hall coefficient was found to be isotropic yielding room temperature hole concentration in the range 10¹⁵ – 10¹⁶ cm⁻³. The hole mobilities of InTe samples were in the range 1.17 × 10³ – 2.06 × 10³ cm²/V · sec at room temperature. The band – gap of InTe determined from Hall coefficient studies has been obtained equal to 0.34 ev. The scattering mechanism was checked, and the electrical properties were found to be sensitive to the crystal growth rate.     

Crystal growth and spectral analysis of Dy3+ and Er3+ doped KPb2Cl5 as a mid‐infrared laser crystal

This paper reports crystal growth and optical characteristics of dysprosium (Dy³⁺) and erbium (Er³⁺) doped mid‐infrared laser crystal ternary‐potassium‐lead‐chloride (KPb₂Cl₅). Two transparent crystals with good optical quality have been grown successfully by using the Bridgman technique,the largest crystal size reaches up to ∅︁10×60mm². Measurements of X‐ray diffraction(XRD) and absorption spectra were carried out. Based on Judd‐Ofelt theory, the intensity parameters Ω_t(t=2,4,6), the experimental and theoretical oscillator strengths have been obtained.The intensity parameters Ω_t(t=2,4,6) of Er³⁺:KPb₂Cl₅ were calculated to be Ω₂=5.10×10^‐20 cm², Ω₄=1.25×10^‐20 cm², Ω₆=0.83×10^‐20 cm², and the values for Dy³⁺:KPb₂Cl₅ were calculated to be Ω₂=6.26×10^‐20 cm², Ω₄=2.45×10^‐20 cm², Ω₆=0.04×10^‐20 cm² respectively. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)