New Ternary Semiconducting Compounds, Cd4(P,As)2(Cl,Br,I)3

Five new ternary semiconducting compounds have been synthesized: Cd4P2Cl3, Cd4P2Br3, Cd4P2I3, Cd4As2Br3, and Cd4As2I3. These compounds are all cubic (space group Pa3) and isomorphous with each other. Their lattice constants vary with sizes of the component atoms. The structure appears to be based on a nearly face-centered cubic arrangement of cadmium atoms in a pseudocell having half the edge of the true primitive cell. All the new compounds are deeply colored. Estimates of their energy band gaps have been made from optical and electrical measurements. © 1963, The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.