Bond lengths in Cd1-xZnxTe beyond linear laws revisited

We have investigated the development of local bond lengths with composition in the Cd1-xZnxTe mixed system by measuring the fine structure in X-ray absorption (EXAFS) at all three constittient atoms. The bond strength is found to dominate over the averaging of the bulk so that the local bond length deviates only slightly from its natural value determined for the pure binary components ZnTe and CdTe, respectively. The deviations are significantly less than predicted by a simple radial force constant model for tetrahedrally co-ordinated binary systems, and the bond-length variation with concentration is significantly non-linear. For the second shell, bimodal anion-anion distances are found while the cation-cation distances can already be described by the virtual crystal approximation. In the diluted regime close to the end-point compounds, we have complemented our experimental work by ab initio calculations based on density functional theory with the WIEN97 program using the linearised augmented plane wave method. Equilibrium atomic lattice positions have been calculated for the substitutional isovalent metal atom in a 32-atom super cell, Zn in the CdTe lattice or Cd in the ZnTe lattice, respectively, yielding good agreement with the atomic distances as determined in our EXAFS experiments. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.