Some properties of lead telluride wire crystals in glass isolation

Abstract

Wire crystals (WC) based on lead telluride due to large free path lengths and large de Broglie wavelengths are convenient objects for observation and investigation of classical and quantum size effects. The paper describes investigation of a number of physical-chemical properties of PbTe wire crystals in a glass isolation grown by the method of filling of vacuumed closed-end quartz capillaries with PbTe melt followed by its directed crystallization [1]. Filling of capillaries having the inner diameter 10-150 μm and the length 150 mm is carried out by the excess pressure of inert gas in the process of the melt crystallization inside the capillaries and it is directed towards their open ends with the velocity less than 10 cm/hour.