Some physical properties of the new intermetallic compound NbCd$_{2}$

Solid solutions of cadmium in niobium and NbCd$_{2}$ phase are formed by magnetron sputtering and coprecipitation on substrates moving relative to the flow of Nb and Cd particles. The NbCd$_{2}$ phase can be described by a tetragonal unit cell with the parameters $a$ = 0.84357 nm, $c$ = 0.54514 nm, and $c/a$ = 0.6426. A very high hole concentration in NbCd$_{2}$ is established by studying the coating absorption and transmission spectra corresponding to the intermetallic-compound composition near the fundamental absorption edge, determining the band gap, and measuring the carrier mobility. Such a concentration is characteristic of a strongly degenerate semiconductor or metal. The band gap is determined to be 1.26 eV. The variation in the concentration of carriers and their mobility depending on the cadmium concentration in coatings of the Nb–Cd system confirms the occurrence of the NbCd$_2$ phase.