Structural study and Raman scattering analysis of Cu 2 ZnSiTe 4 bulk crystals

Bulk crystals of Cu2ZnSiTe4 (CZSiTe) have been prepared by modified Bridgman method and have been investigated by single crystal X-ray method, Energy Dispersive X-Ray analysis and Raman scattering techniques. The structural studies revealed that the CZSiTe compounds crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4¯2m, with a = b = 5.9612(1) A and c = 11.7887(4) A at 293 K. The Raman spectrum characteristic of the crystals exhibits nine peaks, with two dominant peaks at approximately 134 cm−1 and 151 cm−1 that can be used as fingerprint peaks for the identification of this compound. The Raman peaks were analyzed on the basis of the derived irreducible representation for the zone center phonons and by comparison with experimental and theoretical data from close related semiconductors as Cu2FeSnS4 and Cu2ZnSnSe4.