Influence of copper impurity and structure defects on the properties of compound CdSnAs2

A study was made of the mechanisms of formation and interaction of impurities and intrinsic defects in CdSnAs₂ crystals during diffusion doping of this compound with copper and during subsequent low-temperature (300°C) annealing. This was done by diffusing copper into samples with different initial defect structure under conditions of controlled arsenic vapor pressure and applying the method of quasichemical reactions to analyze the experimental data. It was found that the special features of the physical properties of n-type CdSnAs₂:Cu crystals — the low density and high mobility of electrons-were due to the high reactivity of copper resulting in binding of the original crystal defects to form neutral complexes. It was found that the anomalous annealing of CdSnAs₂: Cu samples, resulting in n-p conversion of the type of conduction, was associated with precipitation of a solid solution of an accidental donor impurity (most probably oxygen). The diffusion doping with copper was found to be one of the most effective methods for controlling the properties of CdSnAs₂, particularly in the preparation of high-resistivity crystals.Translated from Izvestiya Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp, 102–108, May, 1980.