VIBRATIONS OF CONSTITUENT ATOMS IN ZNXCD1-XTE AND HG1-XCDXTE (VARIOUS X)

The vibrational amplitudes of constituents atoms in ZnxCd1-xTe and Hg1-xCdxTe are deduced from combined proton-induced X-ray emission and Rutherford backscattering channeling measurements at various compositions and temperatures. For ZnxCd1-xTe the addition of small quantities of Zn (x ≃ 0.1) to CdTe is found to produce a drastic (40%) decrease in the vibrational amplitudes, the Te atoms being more affected than the Cd. In Hg1-xCdxTe the Hg atoms are found to vibrate with amplitudes larger than the rest of the atoms for all compositions studied, while a minimum in the amplitudes is reached at x = 0.7 for all constituent atoms. Temperature dependent measurements reveal basic differences in the dynamical behavior of the CdTe based ternaries as compared to pure CdTe. Possible explanations for the above results are presented. © 1989.