Long-Term Changes in Mechanical and Electrical Characteristics of CdTe Crystals after Their Exposure to a Weak Pulsed Magnetic Field

Abstract

Long-term changes in mechanical and electrical properties of p-type CdTe single crystals have been revealed after their exposure to a weak pulsed magnetic field (B = 1 T, ν = 12 Hz, t_exp = 10 min). A nonmonotonic increase in the hardness of crystals (presence of two peaks) and a nonmonotonic decrease in their specific dark conductivity (three peaks) have been observed. The peaks of changes in mechanical and electrical properties correlate on the time scale. It is shown that the intensity of observed effects depends on the crystal orientation with respect to the direction of magnetic induction vector B. In particular, the observed changes in properties for B || 〈111〉 are twice as large as those for B || 〈110〉. Possible mechanisms of the observed effect are discussed.