Growth of CdSiP2 single crystals by double-walled quartz ampoule technique

A CdSiP2 single crystal measuring 15 mm in diameter and 35 mm in length was grown by the modified vertical Bridgman method adopting a specially designed double-walled quartz ampoule. The as-grown crystal was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), infrared (IR) and visible–near infrared (VIS–NIR) spectrophotometers and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that multiple diffraction peaks of a (101) cleavage face are evident and parallel growth steps on the face are observed. The XRF result indicates that the chemical composition of the as-grown crystal is close to the ideal stoichiometry. The IR transmittance of a sample with 2 mm thickness is about 48% in the range from 10,000 to 1500 cm−1. The VIS–NIR spectrum shows that the short wave absorption edge is at about 576 nm and the calculated band gap is about 2.15 eV. The binding energies of the Cd 3d3/2, Cd 3d5/2, Si 3d and P 2p core levels are determined to be 411.8 eV, 405.1 eV, 101.1 eV and 129.5 eV, respectively. These results show that the quality of the as-grown crystal is good and the double-walled quartz ampoule technique is promising for the growth of high-quality CdSiP2 single crystals.

► An integral CdSiP2 single crystal was grown by a double-walled quartz ampoule technique. ► The as-grown crystal was characterized by XRD, SEM, XRF, IR and VIS–NIR spectrophotometers and XPS. ► The results indicated that the quality of the crystal is good.