Study of thermal expansion of mercury indium telluride crystals by XRD technique

The thermal expansion behavior of mercury indium telluride (MIT) crystals, Hg(3–3x)In2xTe3(x=0.5), based on X-ray diffraction experimental data is studied at 298–573 K. The variation of the lattice parameter of MIT crystals with temperature was determined and the thermal expansion coefficient was deduced to be 6.18×10−6 K−1. The results of the thermal expansion are fitted to polynomial expressions. It is found that the lattice parameter decreases quickly with temperature increasing at 298–330 K and then increases continuously up to 573 K. The minimum lattice parameter corresponds to a maximum shrinkage of 0.06%.