Chemical Diffusion in Cadmium Telluride

Abstract

The chemical diffusion coefficients of single crystals of cadmium telluride D_CdTe were determined as a function of temperature and composition using high‐temperature electrical conductivity measurements. In the temperature range 550° to 800°C, D_CdTe can be approximated by 4 exp[− (1.15±0.1) eV/kT] and is nearly independent of cadmium partial pressure p_Cd, for p_Cd extending over two decades from the cadmium‐rich liquidus. The measured and calculated values of D_CdTe are in good agreement, and the results favor an interstitial mechanism for cadmium self‐diffusion.