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Electrical and Optical Properties of Cu2CdGeS4 Single Crystals

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Abstract

Cu2CdGeS4 single crystals are grown by chemical vapor transport and directional solidification, and their properties are studied. Independent of the growth technique, the crystals are p-type, with a 290-K Hall mobility of holes in the range 10–15 cm2/(V s). The room-temperature band gap of Cu2CdGeS4 evaluated from the position of its fundamental absorption edge is E g ≈ 2.05 eV. The nature of the defects responsible for the near-IR absorption in Cu2CdGeS4 is assessed by analyzing the absorption spectra of stoichiometric crystals prepared by different techniques and melt-grown nonstoichiometric crystals. Some of the crystals studied have a thermoelectric power as high as 1800 mV/K. Based on the experimental data, a model is proposed for the electronic processes in Cu2CdGeS4, which accounts for the observed electrical and optical properties of this semiconductor.

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Davidyuk, G.E., Parasyuk, O.V., Semenyuk, S.A. et al. Electrical and Optical Properties of Cu2CdGeS4 Single Crystals. Inorganic Materials 39, 919–923 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025596903080

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