Effect of the Addition of Silicon on the Properties of Germanium Single Crystals for IR Optics

Homogeneous Sb-doped single crystals of Ge–Si solid solutions are grown with a silicon content of 0.2 to 0.8 at %. The optical absorption of single crystals with a resistivity of (2–3) Ω cm is studied by IR Fourier spectroscopy at a wavelength of 10.6 μm in the temperature range from 25 to 60°C. It is found that the introduction of silicon into antimony-doped germanium improves the temperature stability of the optical properties of the crystals.