GROWTH, CHARACTERIZATION AND MOSSBAUER SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF COPPER INDIUM CHALCOSTANNATES

Quaternary chalcogenides of general composition CuInSnXVI4 (XVI = O, S, Se, Te) were prepared by the melt and anneal tehcnique and characterization vy SEM, DTA and X-ray examinations. The results of these investigations and of a 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopic study, showed that the characteristics of homogeneity and single phase were restricted to the sulfide and the selenide. CuInSnS4, which is a disordered cubic spinel compound, was grown by temperature gradient annealing of polycrystalline samples. Single crystals of CuInSnSe4, which exhibits a defect chalcopyride structure, were obtained by fast cooling from the melt. The chemical composition of polycrystalline samples and grown crystals was checked by EDS measurements