Hans Josef Reichmann

Ge and Sn are unreactive at ambient conditions. Their significant promise for optoelectronic applications is thus largely confined to thin film investigations. We sought to remove barriers to reactivity here by accessing a unique pressure, 10 GPa, where the two elements can adopt the same crystal structure (tetragonal, I41/amd) and exhibit compatible atomic radii. The route to GeSn solid solution, however, even under these directed conditions, is different.

Abstract The cubic diamond (Fd m) group IVA element Si has been the material driver of the electronics industry since its inception. We report synthesis of a new cubic (Im m) group IVA material, a GeSn solid solution, upon heating Ge and Sn at pressures from 13 to 28 GPa using double‐sided diamond anvil laser‐heating and large volume press methods. Both methods were coupled with in situ angle dispersive X‐ray diffraction characterization.