Study of thermal expansion of mercury indium telluride crystals by XRD technique

The thermal expansion behavior of mercury indium telluride (MIT) crystals, Hg_(3-3x)In_2xTe₃(x=0.5), based on X-ray diffraction experimental data is studied at 298-573 K. The variation of the lattice parameter of MIT crystals with temperature was determined and the thermal expansion coefficient was deduced to be 6.18×10^-6 K^-1. The results of the thermal expansion are fitted to polynomial expressions. It is found that the lattice parameter decreases quickly with temperature increasing at 298-330 K and then increases continuously up to 573 K. The minimum lattice parameter corresponds to a maximum shrinkage of 0.06.