Dependence of the superconducting transition parameters on the solid-solution composition and Te excess in Sn1−z PbzTe:In

A low-temperature (0.4–4.2 K) measurement of the temperature dependences of the resistivity of two series of samples, SnTe_1+y and Sn_0.8Pb_0.2Te_1+y solid solution, doped with 5 at.% In, is reported. The parameters of the superconducting transition, namely, the critical temperatures T _c and the second critical magnetic field H _c2, and their dependences on tellurium excess (0⩽y⩽0.06) have been determined. The observed variation of the critical parameters with increasing tellurium excess in the samples is associated with a change in the filling by holes of the indium-impurity resonance states. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 2132–2134 (December 1999)     

Isotope selective ionization of tellurium dimers Te2 formed by excimer laser photodissociation of an organometallic compound: CH3TeTeCH3

Usingone standard commercial dye laser, tellurium dimers Te₂ — formed by excimer laser induced photoelimination from CH₃TeTeCH₃ at room temperature — are ionized isotope selectively.     

Thermal and optical analysis of Te-substituted Sn–Sb–Se chalcogenide semiconductors

Bulk amorphous samples of Te-substituted Sn₁₀Sb₂₀Se_70−X Te _X (0≤X≤12) were prepared using a melt quenching technique. Calorimetric studies of the samples were performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature were evaluated from DSC scans. The glass transition temperature T _g exhibits a sharp decrease for small Te substitution of X=2, thereafter increases with increase in Te content up to X=10, and then decreases for further Te substitution. The apparent activation energy for glass transition and the activation energy for crystallization were calculated using Kissinger, modified Kissinger, and Matusita equations. The change in glass transition temperature T _g has been explained based on the bond formation energy of different heteropolar bonds. The optical band gap of thermally evaporated thin films of Sn₁₀Sb₂₀Se_70−X Te _X (0≤X≤12) was calculated from reflectance and transmittance data. The optical band gap variation with tellurium content exhibits a sharp decrease for an initial tellurium substitution of X=2 similar to that of the glass transition temperature and thereafter a peak is observed in optical band gap around X=4 composition.     

Electrical and thermoelectrical properties of selenium-tellurium liquid alloys

A study has been made of the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power of liquid alloys Te_1-x Se _x with 0≤-x≤-0.5. The temperature range extends from undercooling to about 900°C for electrical conductivity and 750°C for thermoelectric power. A partial conservation after melting of covalent bonds between the atoms of the chains leads to a liquid model in which Gubanov's theory predicts an energy band gap. The experimental results in the intrinsic semiconductor range give the band gap and the mobility ratio values. The thermal gap changes from 1.2 to 3 ev between pure tellurium and the alloy with 70 at. % selenium. There is a large increase in hole mobility with atomic % selenium. For x≥0.2 the low temperature results of the electrical conductivity can be explained by the existence of localized states in the band gap. The high temperature measurements show a trend to the metallic state, but this state cannot be reached at one atmosphere pressure even for tellurium.     

Modeling of the Interaction of High-Power Pulsed Ion Beams with Cadmium-Mercury-Tellurium Semiconductor Targets

A mathematical model for describing the interaction between high-power pulsed ion beams and semiconductor Cd_xHg_1–x Te (cadmium–mercury–tellurium or CMT) targets is developed, the results of numerical simulation are reported, and the comparison with experiment is performed.     

Optical and electrical properties of C60Tex films

The structure, composition, and electrical and optical properties of thin tellurium-intercalated fullerene films C₆₀Te_x are investigated. The samples of compositions from C₆₀Te_0.1 to C₆₀Te₆ are prepared by thermal evaporation. The sample composition and the impurity distribution are controlled by the Rutherford backscattering technique. The Raman vibrational spectra indicate changes in the symmetry of a C₆₀ molecule: the strain of the molecule increases with a decrease in the tellurium concentration and decreases as the tellurium impurity concentration increases. The evolution of the optical absorption spectra and the electrical conductivity suggests that intercalation of a tellurium impurity leads to modification of the electronic structure of the material. This process is accompanied by a shift and change in shape of the optical absorption edge and a change in the electrical conductivity of films by several orders of magnitude depending on the composition. The electrical conductivity is minimum at a low tellurium impurity content.     

Diffraction of IR radiation by ultrasound in tellurium single crystals

The optic, acoustic, and acousto-optic properties of tellurium single crystals are considered to analyze the possibilities of applying this material in acousto-optic filters to control mid- and far-IR radiation. The results of measuring the optic and acousto-optic parameters of a tellurium crystal are reported. The isotropic and anisotropic light diffraction by ultrasound in the crystal is investigated. The wide-aperture geometry of interaction in tellurium is implemented and an acousto-optic figure of merit M ₂ of a tellurium crystal exceeding 10 × 10^?15 s³ g^?1 is experimentally obtained.     

Diffusion of selenium and tellurium in silicon

Diffusion of selenium and tellurium in silicon has been investigated in the temperature range 1000°C to 1310°C by sheet conductivity. For SiSeD ₀= 0.3±0.1 cm²/s andh=2.6±0.1 eV, and for SiTeD ₀=0.9±0.3 cm²/s and h=3.3±0.1eV have been obtained. The surface concentrations for both dopants were of the order of 5 × 10¹³ to 6×10¹⁶cm^–3. The Hall coefficient leads to an energy level of 300±15meV for selenium and 200±20meV for tellurium.     

Studies of clean and oxidized tellurium surfaces

Clean and oxidized surfaces of tellurium films have been studied using electron-excited Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy loss spectroscopy, and electron-stimulated desorption. The results for clean tellurium are in general agreement with previous studies, but the oxidation studies have provided new information. Reaction between oxygen gas and tellurium was found to be an activated process requiring tellurium temperatures in excess of 60°C to produce detectable oxide for 30 min exposures to ~800 Torr of oxygen. Increasing the temperature to 200°C produced a 10.6 A layer of TeO₂. This layer was rapidly removed by electron irradiation with a cross-section of ~3 × 10^?18 cm² for electron-stimulated desorption of oxygen by 2 keV electrons; however, there was evidence for reduced cross sections for thinner TeO₂ layers.     

Growth of tellurium clusters in presence of metal impurities

The growth of small tellurium clusters in helium and the influence of a metal impurity (dysprosium atoms) on the cluster size distribution are investigated in a double laser vaporization source. A model describing the role of the carrier gas as collision partner is presented, emphasizing the crucial influence of the gas pressure on cluster formation. Changes in cluster reactivity due to dysprosium addition are discussed in terms of ionic structures Dy ^{3 +}(Te _N)^{3 -} containing a radical electron. Received 28 November 2000     

57Fe Mössbauer study of ternary alloy systems Fe(Sb1−x Te x )2 for 0.5≤x≤1.0 at 4.2K

Summary We report on low-temperature (4.2 K)⁵⁷Fe M?ssbauer studies of the ternary alloy system Fe(Sb_1−x Te _x )₂ for 0.5≤x≤1.0. The M?ssbauer spectra are electric-quadrupole doublets for all the specimens, indicating a non-magnetic character. The quadrupole splitting decreases with the increase in tellurium concentration. FeTe₂ has also been studied in external magnetic fields up to 6T. These experiments show that the electric-field gradient in this alloy is negative and has an asymmetry parameter of η ≈0.7. Paper presented at the ICAME-95, Rimini, 10–16 September 1995.     

Weak localization with a specific role of t symmetry (2D and 3D holes in tellurium)

The anomalous magnetoresistance in crystalline tellurium is analyzed for different p-type carrier dimensions: a bulk sample, size-quantized accumulation layers on different tellurium crystallographic surfaces, and tellurium clusters (tellurium embedded in a dielectric opal matrix). It is shown that the effect can be interpreted in all cases in terms of the theory of weak localization of noninteracting particles with inclusion of the specific features of the tellurium band spectrum, namely, fully lifted spin degeneracy, trigonal spectrum distortion, and a specific role played by the t symmetry in inter-valley scattering. The differences observed among the various manifestations of the weak localization effect are determined by the hole wave function phase-relaxation channel which is dominant in a particular case. A case is discussed where the time characterizing the inter-valley transition probability becomes comparable to the momentum relaxation time. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 879–881 (May 1999)     

Structural phase transformations and physical properties of intercalation compounds in the Cr0.5Ti(Se1−x Tex)2 system

The atomic structure and magnetic and electric properties of the Cr_0.5TiSe₂-Cr_0.5TiTe₂ system of intercalated phases were studied in detail by gradually replacing selenium by tellurium. It was revealed that this replacement changes the crystalline structure from monoclinic in the initial compounds to hexagonal in the compounds containing various types of chalcogen atoms; this is accompanied by disordering of chromium atoms in the van der Waals gaps. The electrical resistance and magnetic characteristics vary nonmonotonically on replacement of selenium by tellurium, which is associated with a change in the degree of atomic disordering during the transition from Cr_0.5TiSe₂ to Cr_0.5TiTe₂.     

Optical properties of AsSe1.5−xTex glassy system

Thin AsSe_1.5−xTe_x films with 0x<1.5 have been prepared by a thermal vacuum evaporation technique onto quartz and glass substrates kept at room temperature (300 K). The optical constants, the refractive index, n, and the absorption index, k, of the films were determined for the investigated compositions of different thickness values (100–300 nm) using spectrophotometric measurements of the transmittance, T, and the reflectance, R, at normal incidence in the spectral range 400–2500 nm. The obtained values of both n and k were found to be independent of the film thickness within the above mentioned thickness range. The estimated indirect and direct optical energy gap decreased as tellurium content increased in the parent sample AsSe_1.5. The values of dispersion energy, E_d, and lattice dielectric constant, _L, of the system have been determined and correlated with the type and amount of chemical bonds and the relative proportion of the constituent elements in the examined compositions.     

Growth of periodic Hg1−x MnxTe structures by liquid-phase epitaxy

A procedure for the calculation of phase equilibria in the tellurium corner of the phase diagram of the ternary system Mn-Hg-Te is described within the framework of the model of regular associated solutions. The initial concentrations of the nonstoichiometric fluxed melts and the temperature regimes of their cooling for the controlled liquid-phase epitaxial growth of inhomogeneous Hg_1−x Mn_xTe structures with prescribed modulation of the composition along their thickness are determined by numerical solution of a nonlinear inverse Stefan problem. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 64–67 (September 1997)     

Structural and optical studies of the discontinuous behaviour of Te thin films subjected to He implantation

Electron microscopy investigations of tellurium thin films implanted with singly ionized He ions have revealed the appearance of a large number of surface structures when N _s, the number of implanted ions per unit area within the films, exceeds 0.2×10¹⁵ ions/cm² at a beam energy of 32 keV. This coincides with an observed discontinuity in the optical properties of the Te thin films and with a sudden decrease in the degree of orientation of the thin films as measured by X-ray diffraction. The same type of behaviour is observed for implantations with variable ion-beam energies and a fixed N _s of 0.5×10¹⁵ He ions/cm², with a discontinuity apparent near a value of 30 keV.     

Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopic Investigation of Reaction of Rubidium and Tellurium in Liquid Ammonia Solution

The sequential reaction of tellurium with rubidium in liquid ammonia solution has been monitored by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Reaction times for rubidium with tellurium in liquid ammonia were markedly slower than those of sodium and potassium, and the “yellow phase” intermediate was long lived and exhibited a peak at approximately 330 nm with a broad shoulder at about 440 nm. Species formed agree with those previously reported: Rb₂Te, Rb₂Te₂, and Rb₂Te₃. Rb₂Te₂ solution was a violet-blue with absorbance peaks at 285.8, 324.3, 358.0, and 560.0 nm. No evidence of disproportionation reactions for rubidium polytellurides in liquid ammonia was observed.     

Theoretical studies on the nature and strength of an intermolecular non-covalent Te•••π interaction

ABSTRACT

DFT and MP2 calculations were used to determine the nature of non-covalent tellurium–π interactions in R₂Te???C₆H₆ (R = H, F, Cl, CH₃) and C₄H₄Te???C₆H₆ systems. The results showed that the strength of Te···π interaction follows the order F₂Te > Cl₂Te > tellurophene > H₂Te > Me₂Te. Also, the F₂X···π system complexes (X = Te or Se, π system = C₆F₆, C₆(CH₃)₆, Cr(C₆H₆)₂ and coronene) were studied for investigating the direction of charge flow in Te···π interaction. The obtained data expressed that the existence of electron withdrawing group on Te atom increases the strength of Te???π interaction while the fluorine atoms on benzene ring decrease it. The breakdown of ΔE_int in the R₂Te···C₆H₆ (R = H, F, Cl, CH₃) and C₄H₄Te···C₆H₆ systems using two dispersion corrected DFT methods showed that when the R group on divalent tellurium atom is an electron withdrawing substituent, the contribution of ΔE_elstat and ΔE_orb in total interaction energy increases and the value of ΔE_int is relatively large. The present data also showed that the intermolecular Te···π interactions are slightly stronger than corresponding Se···π interactions.     

Evidence of magnetic ordering in tellurium substituted FeSb2

We report on a⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer study of tellurium substituted FeSb₂, FeSb_2?x Tc _x (x=0.2, 0.4, 0.6), at temperatures between 4.2 K and 300 K. For all three alloys, the Mössbauer spectra at 4.2 K are characteristic of a magnetically ordered state. The hyperfine field at Fe site increases with increasing tellurium concentration. The magnetic character may be attributed to the existence of a very narrow band gap leading to fairly strong Coulomb and exchange interactions between holes in the valence band and electrons in the conduction band.     

Drastic change in shape of tetragonal TeO2 nanowires and their application to transparent chemical gas sensors

We have synthesized one-dimensional structures of tellurium dioxide (TeO₂) by heating of tellurium powders. Their morphology was drastically changed as the growth temperature increased in the range of 400-500 °C, in which high-temperature process facilitated the thickening of the stem nanowires, as well as the growth of secondary branches on the stems. The obtained TeO₂ products were crystalline with tetragonal structure. The TeO₂ nanowire film exhibited a high transmission rate of about 73%. We have investigated the NO₂ sensing properties of the as-fabricated TeO₂ nanowires, in which a linear relationship between sensitivity and the NO₂ gas concentration was observed. Thus, the TeO₂ nanowires demonstrated their potential application to transparent chemical sensors.