Concentration of vacancies in the metal sublattice of cadmium and mercury tellurides solid solutions depending on composition

Calculations for the concentration of vacancies in the metal sublattice of CdxHg1 − xTe ternary compound in dependence on temperature and composition in the range x = 0.2–1.0 are presented. In our calculations, the vacancy concentration was determined according to the reaction of the joining of the crystal lattices of two sites, one of which was occupied by an atom of tellurium while the site in the metal sublattice remained vacant. Using this approach, the concentration of vacancies in the metal sublattice was described via the activity of tellurium, allowing us to use it for solid solutions and a number of cases in which it is difficult to describe the pressure of the metal correctly. The enthalpy of formation was determined for vacancies in HgTe using the experimental data on the concentration of vacancies in CdxHg1 − xTe samples. It was shown that the natural oxide occurring on the surface of the investigated films in air can lead to changes in their electrophysical parameters during heat treatment.