Thermal expansion and structural properties of (CuAlTe2)1–x(CuAlSe2)x solid solutions

Investigations of the thermal expansion of (CuAlTe2)1–x(CuAlSe2)x solid solutions in the temperature range from 100 to 800 K have been carried out for the first time. It has been demonstrated that the thermal expansion coefficient αL grows considerably in the temperature range from 100 to 300 K, whereas the temperature dependence above 300 K is rather weak. The isotherms of composition dependence of the thermal expansion coefficient αL for 100, 293, 500 and 800 K were constructed, and it was found that linear relations could express them. The Debye temperatures θD , the average mean‐square dynamic displacements $ \bar u ^2 $, the average root‐mean‐square amplitudes of thermal vibration RMS , the anion position parameter u using S. C. Abrahams & J. L. Bernstein (uAB ) and J. E. Jaffe & A. Zunger (uJZ ) models were calculated. The composition dependence of microhardness H using the phenomenological theory was also calculated, and it was discovered that this dependence has a non‐linear character with a maximum of 383 kg/mm2 at x=0.67. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)