Solid state phase equilibria in the Er-Ga-As system

Abstract

The Er-Ga-As solid state equilibrium phase diagram was determined at 800 °C with the use of powder X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis and scanning electron microscopy. No ternary phases were found and very limited solid solubilities were measured in the constituent binary Er-Ga and Er-As compounds, with the exception of Er 5Ga 3 which showed a broad homogeneity range with an As-rich limit corresponding to the formula Er 5Ga 2As. GaAs, ErAs and gallium metal form a three-phase region that dominates the GaAs side of the phase diagram. The existence of this three-phase region confirms previous observations that the metallic compound ErAs is thermodynamically stable on GaAs and therefore, since lattice matched, a potential candidate for epitactic contacts. The results of the Er-Ga-As phase diagram, confirmed by the experimental determination of the Ho-Ga-As diagram, can be extended to the other heavy rare earths (Gd → Lu) and to chemically related elements such as scandium and yttrium. In the case of the light rare earths (La → Sm) the occurrence of an As-rich binary modifies the bottom part of the ternary diagram below 600 °C as confirmed by the partial determination of the Pr-Ga-As diagram.