Crystalline and Microstructural Properties of Cd _{1− <i>x−</i> <i>y</i>} Mn _<i>x</i> Cr _<i>y</i> Te Semiconductor System ( <i>x</i>  = 0.33 and 0.05 ≤  <i>y</i>  ≤ 0.15)

The quaternary Cd 1− x − y Mn x Cr y Te semiconductor system ( x = 0.33 and 0.05 ≤ y ≤ 0.15) was synthesized by direct fusion of its constituent elements and characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction, with structural study using the Rietveld analysis. From the analysis, for the sample with y = 0.15, the diffraction pattern showed the presence of two phases with 97.22% wt of the principal phase Cd 0.52 Mn 0.33 Cr 0.15 Te and 2.78% wt of a secondary phase identified as the binary compound Cr 2 Te 3 . The Cd 1− x − y Mn x Cr y Te system crystallizes in the zinc blende structure, space group F3m (N° 216), with lattice parameters: a = 6.421(1) Å and V = 264.687(2) Å 3 for y = 0.15. As shown, the lattice constant of system decreases linearly with increasing Cr concentration, indicating that Cr ions partially substitute Cd sites in the CdTe host lattice, at least up to a concentration of 15%. The refinement of 26 instrumental and structural parameters converged with reliability factors of R p = 15.7%, R wp = 15.6%, R exp = 12.7%, and , based on 4000 intensity steps and 15 independent reflections for y = 0.15. Scanning electron microscopy was employed for a qualitative elemental analysis in selected regions of the samples. Comparison of the three samples revealed that the main difference is directly related to the Cr concentration. A progressive increase in Cr content induced variations in the microstructure and local atomic composition, with a more pronounced segregation observed in the samples with a higher Cr concentration.