Kinetics of the accumulation of radiation defects during the high-dose electron irradiation of Pb1?x SnxSe alloys

The kinetics of the variation of the electron concentration in electron-irradiated (T≈300 K, E=6 MeV, Φ⩽7.1×10¹⁷ cm⁻²) n-Pb_1−x Sn_xSe (x=0.2 and 0.25) alloys in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition induced by electron irradiation are investigated. The principal parameters of the energy spectrum of the irradiated alloys are determined by comparing the experimental and theoretical dependences of the electron concentration on fluence. It is shown that agreement between the theoretical and experimental data is possible only under the assumption that the defect production rate decreases with increasing fluence, and a model, within which the main defect formation mechanism in the alloys investigated is the formation of complexes of primary radiation defects with structural defects typical of the as-grown crystals, is proposed. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 32, 1409–1413 (December 1998)