Structural Properties of MnTe, ZnTe, and ZnMnTe

Structural properties of ZnTe, MnTe, and Mn$\text{}_{1-x}$Zn$\text{}_{x}$Te alloy with zinc-blende, NiAs, and wurtzite phases were investigated by ab initio calculations. The calculated structural properties are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Theory predicts that the zinc-blende phase is more stable than wurtzite for all compositions. Mn$\text{}_{1-x}$Zn$\text{}_{x}$Te samples with 0.01 < x < 0.20 were grown by MBE. X-ray analysis of their crystalline structure revealed the presence of zinc-blende, wurtzite, and NiAs phases. The dominant phase changes from NiAs for the sample with x=0.01 to wurtzite for x=0.20. The observed stabilization of the wurtzite phase is possibly due to the hexagonal structure of the MnTe buffer.