Low energy band gap state in compressed needlelike structure of CdSb:Ni

Abstract

We studied the effect of high pressure on the border of intrinsic conductivity in CdSb doped with 0.5%Ni, the structure of which is needlelike due to spherical extended NiSb inclusions. The bandgap state has been found to be strongly governed by a structural transition in the composite structure. A pressure-induced phase exhibits an activation behavior only upon heating with a very low energy gap by 0.05 eV at 5.32 GPa, while metallic conductivity appears upon subsequent cooling, which is attributed to the instability of the cadmium antimonide structure. Room-temperature Hall effect measurements confirm that the high-pressure phase is not fully metallized, yielding a hole concentration of 4.08 × 1018 cm−3 at the onset of structural transition and a reduced magnitude by order in this phase.