Studies on the local structures and the spin Hamiltonian parameters for Fe3+ in CdX (X = S,Se, Te)

The improved perturbation formulas of the spin Hamiltonian parameters (zero-field splitting D and g factors) for a 3d⁵ ion in trigonally distorted tetrahedra are constructed from the cluster approach by including both the crystal-field and charge-transfer contributions. These formulas are applied to the studies of the local structures and the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra for Fe³⁺ in CdX (X = S, Se, Te). The impurity Fe³⁺ is found not to occupy exactly the host Cd²⁺ sites but to experience the small outward shifts 0.014 and 0.006 Å away from the ligand triangles along the C₃ axis in CdS and CdSe, respectively. The charge-transfer contributions to the spin Hamiltonian parameters are important and increase significantly with increasing atomic number of the ligand (i.e., S^2? < Se^2? < Te^2?) arising from the decreases of charge-transfer energy levels and the increases of ligand spin–orbit coupling coefficients. The results are discussed.