A New Group of Compounds with Diamond type (Chalcopyrite) Structure

IT is now possible to confirm the existence, previously predicted 1 , of a new group of compounds with chalcopyrite structure, and of general formula A II B IV X V 2 , where A II is zinc or cadmium, B IV is silicon, germanium or tin, and X V is arsenic or phosphorus. The new II—IV—V 2 compounds can be derived formally from III—V zinc blende compounds by substituting for every two atoms of the group III element one atom from each of groups II and IV (for example, GaAs → ZnGeAs 2 ).