Structural, Electrical and Mechanical Properties of GaTe for Radiation Detector Applications
P. M. Reshmi1, A. G. Kunjomana2, K.A. Chandrasekharan3, M. Meena4, C. K. Mahadevan5

1P.M. Reshmi, Department of Physics, Christ University, Bangalore, India.
2A.G. Kunjomana, Department of Physics, Christ University, Bangalore, India.
3K.A. Chandrasekharan, Department of Physics, Christ University, Bangalore, India.
4M. Meena, Department of Physics, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, India.
5C.K. Mahadevan, Department of Physics, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, India.
Manuscript received on October 06, 2011. | Revised Manuscript received on October 22, 2011. | Manuscript published on November 05, 2011. | PP: 228-232 | Volume-1 Issue-5, November 2011. | Retrieval Number: E0202101511/2011©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Single crystals of gallium monotelluride (GaTe) have been grown by the horizontal freezing technique. The lattice parameters, crystallite size and lattice strain were evaluated from the x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Energy dispersive analysis by x-rays (EDAX) was performed on these samples to confirm the stoichiometry and chemical homogeneity. The layer-feature of GaTe was examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dielectric and AC conductivity measurements were carried out in the temperature range 313–423 K. The dielectric constant ε1 and dielectric loss tanδ were determined. Microindentation analysis was done on the cleaved planes of GaTe for different applied loads (5–35 g), to understand its mechanical behaviour. The Vickers microhardness has been computed and its correlation with energy gap Eg of the grown crystals was investigated. The energy gap of GaTe crystals was found to be ~1.69 eV, suitable for using it as high energy radiation detectors.
Keywords: AC conductivity, dielectric constant, gallium monotelluride, horizontal freezing, microhardness, SEM.