Ion beam analysis of synthetic cylindrite produced by CVT

The mineral cylindrite belonging to the sulfosalts has a composition of FeSn4Pb3Sb2S14. The physical interest is based upon the detection of ferromagnetism in the natural mineral and its semiconducting properties, e.g. the narrow band gap of ∼0.7 eV. The aim of the study was to determine whether it is possible to synthesise cylindrite by CVT and to gain more information about the transport mechanisms of the CVT procedure. For this purpose, synthetic cylindrite samples produced by CVT were investigated by ion beam analysis at the LIPSION laboratory in order to determine the composition of the samples. The cylindrite samples were synthesised from source material with stoichiometric as well as slightly modified compositions and subsequently investigated by RBS and PIXE using 1.2 MeV and 2.25 MeV protons. The results show that the different transport and deposition properties of the main components of the cylindrite influence the composition and the homogeneity of the synthesised material. Furthermore, it was found that in general the sulfur content is lower and that the composition of the metals differs compared to natural mineral