Differential Thermal Analysis and Crystal Growth of CdSiP2

Thermal properties of CdSiP2 polycrystalline were studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA) technique with a quartz capillary column. It is found that the melting point and crystallization temperature of CdSiP2 are 1139 and 1126 °C, respectively, and the supercooling degree of CdSiP2 melt is evaluated to be 13 °C. According to the results of DTA, the structure of a furnace and the temperature profile of the crystal growth for CdSiP2 were optimized. A crack-free CdSiP2 crystal with 15 mm in diameter and 40 mm in length was grown by the modified vertical Bridgman (VB) method. The X-ray diffractionmeter (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive microanalysis (EDX) and infrared spectrophotometer?(IR) were employed to characterize the properties of as-grown crystal. A new cleavage face of (112) was identified in XRD spectrum. The results of EDX indicate that the crystal is of good stoichiometry. The infrared transmission is up to 55% in the infrared region from 7000 to 1500 cm-1. All the characterization results show that the obtained crystal is integrated in structure and good in optical quality which can be used in devices fabrication.