High-pressure synthesis of metastable ternary solid solutions between tetrahedral semiconductors

Amorphous Ge-GaSb, Ge-InSb, and GaSb-InSb solid solutions were prepared by high-pressure liquid quenching followed by solid-state amorphization. In the eutectic systems Ge-GaSb and Ge-InSb at 8–9.5 GPa, continuous series of solid solutions are obtained. It is shown, using the Ge-GaSb system as an example, that complete miscibility of the components occurs in the stability field of high-pressure phases. Amorphous Ge-GaSb materials were obtained at Ge concentrations from 0 to 80 at. %. In the (Ge₂)_1-x (InSb) _x and (GaSb)_1-x (InSb) _x solid-solution systems, the composition range of amorphization is narrower, 0.2 ≤x ≤ 0.8. Melt quenching and pressure release at 160 K yield crystalline (Ge₂)_1-x (GaSb) _x (x = 0.1 and 0.15) solid solutions with an unidentified structure similar to that ofR8 Si.