TEM study on HgIn2Te4 precipitates in Hg3In2Te6 crystals grown by the Bridgman method

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used to investigate precipitates in Hg₃In₂Te₆ crystals grown by the Bridgman method. The results show that small volume fractions of HgIn₂Te₄ and Hg₅In₂Te₈ coexist in the crystals, which indicates a small portion of the Hg₃In₂Te₆ crystals has been decomposed. The HgIn₂Te₄ precipitates contain three types of equivalent variants with preferred growth directions along the <100> family of crystal directions of the Hg₃In₂Te₆ matrix. Furthermore, HgIn₂Te₄ precipitates are coherent with the Hg₃In₂Te₆ matrix.