Anisotropy of Young's Modulus and Microhardness of PbTe

Nanoindentation measurements were performed for a single PbTe crystal grown by self-selecting vapour growth method and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The microhardness and Young's modulus were determined for a few loads applied along the [001], [011] and [111] high symmetry directions for carefully oriented, 2 mm thick crystal plates. An anisotropy of two parameters has been suggested and compared with available literature data. The present results qualitatively confirm the theoretical predictions for a rock salt type crystal (PbS). The microhardness anisotropy value is in an agreement with recently determined, relevant value for (Pb,Cd)Te solid solution.