INORGANIC MATERIALS, vol.59, no.1, pp.21-25, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
We have grown single crystals of the Pb0.75Sn0.25Te solid solution containing up to 1.0 at % hyperstoichiometric Sn and produced metal-semiconductor structures based on the crystals with the use of Bi + Sn and In + Ag + Au eutectics. The effect of annealing on their electrical properties has been studied in the temperature range similar to 77-300 K. We assume that, filling vacancies in the Pb and Sn sublattices of the crystals, small amounts of excess Sn atoms reduce carrier concentration n, causing an increase in the resistivity rho of the crystals and the specific contact resistance r(c) of the structures. High Sn concentrations lead to the formation of additional donor centers in the crystals, increasing n and, accordingly, reducing rho and r(c).