HgTe
HgTe, or mercury telluride, is a binary semiconductor compound formed from mercury and tellurium. It crystallizes in the zincblende structure, similar to other II-VI semiconductors. HgTe is notable for its zero-bandgap or semimetallic nature at ambient conditions. This unique electronic property arises from the inverted band ordering of its valence and conduction bands. At low temperatures or under strain, HgTe can transition into a topological insulator phase, exhibiting conducting surface states protected by time-reversal symmetry.
The synthesis of HgTe can be achieved through various techniques, including molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and
HgTe alloys with cadmium telluride (CdTe) to form HgCdTe, a tunable alloy system widely used in infrared