It was recalled that perturbed angular correlation spectroscopic measurements of donor In in CdTe and its alloys had revealed several defect complexes. One defect was characterized by 2 sets of quadrupole interaction parameters ( = 83MHz,  = 0.08;  = 92MHz,  = 0.08) was observed in Hg0.8Cd0.2Te and was attributed to a substitutional In-metal vacancy complex. A defect which was characterized by  = 61MHz, with a -value of between 0 and 0.19, was detected in CdTe and was generally attributed to the same complex. Both of these attributions were based mainly upon an observed relationship between complex formation and the loss of metal ions. Here, perturbed angular correlation measurements were made of 111In-doped Hg0.55Cd0.45Te. These measurements revealed defects which exhibited quadrupole interactions which were very similar to those seen in CdTe and Hg0.8Cd0.2Te. Two unique defect fractions, f1 and f2, which were characterized by  = 60MHz and  = 0 to 0.2, and by  = 87MHz and  = 0 to 0.15, were seen in Hg0.55Cd0.45Te; sometimes simultaneously. The observation of both of these interactions in the same material, assuming that they corresponded to the defects which were seen in CdTe and Hg0.8Cd0.2Te, precluded the possibility that they corresponded to precisely the same defect. A change in the relative fractions of these 2 defects with time was also observed at room temperature. Thus, the f2 fraction within 24h, while f1 and f0 (the fraction of In atoms in sites of cubic or higher symmetry) increased. It was not possible to rule out the occurrence of a slow electronic transition, but a model was favored in which one of the interactions (probably the one near to 60MHz) corresponded to a complex in which In was paired with a fast-diffusing monovalent metal ion such as Ag, Cu, or Li.

J.C.Austin, B.K.Patnaik, K.J.Price, W.C.Hughes: Journal of Applied Physics, 1995, 78[3], 1776-81