Elastic Constants, Thermal Expansion, and Debye Temperature of Lead Telluride

Measurements of the elastic constants and thermal expansion of PbTe have been made from 4.2° to 303.2°K. The extrapolated 0°K values for C44, (C11−C12)/2, and (C11+2C12)/3, respectively, are 1.514±0.009, 6.184±0.066, and 4.560±0.042×1011 dyn/cm2. At 303.2°K these values are 1.344±0.008, 5.016±0.057, and 4.107±0.037×1011 dyn/cm2. Intermediate values are presented graphically, as are the thermal-expansion data. The linear coefficient of thermal expansion is found to be 20.4±0.4×10−6/°C at room temperature. The 0°K Debye temperature is calculated to be 176.7°±0.5°K.