Phase diagram of (CuInTe2)1-x (FeTe) x ALLOYS (0 ≤ × ≤ 0.6)

Polycrystalline samples of the (CuInTe2)1-x (FeTe)x alloy system where prepared by the melt and anneal technique and the products characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Optical Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (ODRS) techniques. A first sight, samples were composed by a tetragonal phase with traces of a secondary phase identified as Fe1.125Te. Under exhaustive examination, it was found that the tetragonal phase, at the same time, is composed by two phases, with the same crystal structure and close lattice parameters, typical of spinodal decomposition. From ODRS measurements, optical absorption vs energy curves was obtained. These curves show how the addition of Fe produces a disordering-reordering process in the cationic sublattice suggesting that composition x=0.5 (CuFeInTe3) could be an intermediate compound in the diagram. Using the obtained information, a preliminary T-x phase diagram is proposed.