Electrical measurement of ZnSb and CdSb phases in the diffusion zone at high pressure

Abstract

The electrical resistances of both Zn-Sb and Cd-Sb couples were measured over the range of 180-260℃ and 8-25 kb and for up to 17 hr. The technique in the present study was devised to check the behavior of the layer growth of both ZnSb and CdSb phases formed in the diffusion zone. The resistance increase nearly obeyed the parabolic law, indicating that its change was almost in proportion to the layer width. The data obtained were fitted to an analytical equation, R-R_0=k_2t^1/2. The resistance-time curves were divided into two parts which consisted of the initial and the latter stage . By assuming that the resistance is rigorously proportional to the width and the slight deviation from the equation in the initial stage is attributed to the cause involved in the growth kinetics, the factors responsible for the net resistance are discussed. The resistance per unit layer width, K, depended on temperature and pressure; the higher the temperature and the lower the pressure, the larger the value of K. The variations in K between the initial and the latter stage were interpreted by considering that the crystallinity of the phase relevant to the resistivity changed with time.