Some Electrical and Optical Properties of Potassium Dichromate Crystals

Abstract

Electrical conductivities, absorption spectra and thermally stimulated current of single crystals of potassium dichromate were measured to make clear its electrical and optical properties. The activation energy of ionic conduction was found to be 1.21 eV along the perpendicular axis to (113) plane.
The fundamental absorption edge of a potassium dichromate crystal along the perpendicular axis to (120) plane was 2.16 eV at 293°K. Further, it was found that the absorption edge shifted to shorter wavelength, as the temperature decreased.
It was detected by the measurements of thermally stimulated current that the carrier traps were located at 0.46 eV and 0.50 eV below the conduction band along the perpendicular axis to (113) plane. These traps may be anisotropic, since the thermally stimulated current along the perpendicular axis to (120) plane was only slightly observed.