Bismuth
thiophosphate, BiPS4, is a promising nontoxic,
high-density ternary chalcogenide semiconductor. Polycrystalline BiPS4 was synthesized from the stoichiometric melt of Bi, P, and
S. Phosphorus was purified via an in-situ sublimation method. Single
crystals of BiPS4 were grown using a modified vertical
Bridgman method with a thermal gradient of 18 °C/cm. The material
exhibits an electrical resistivity of 2 × 109 Ω·cm.
The Knoop hardness of the single crystals is 128 ± 0.8 kg mm–2. A blocking contact behavior was observed with asymmetric
contacts of Ga/BiPS4/Ag. A clear photocurrent response
was observed from a BiPS4 crystal under an electric field
as low as 1.14 V mm–1. Using a tungsten X-ray source,
an X-ray sensitivity of 52 μ Gy–1 cm–2 was measured under an electric field of 80 V mm–1. When a single-crystal BiPS4 radiation detector device
was used in a pulse-height radiation detection system, a clear charge
collection response was observed under a 241Am α-particle
radiation source.
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