Microhardness studies of antimony trisulphide single crystals grown by the chemical vapour transport technique

Single crystals of ferroelectric semiconductor antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3) have been grown by the chemical vapor transport technique using iodine as the transporting agent. Single crystals were obtained when antimony and sulfur in a stoichiometric ratio were used as the source together with iodine. The single crystals were subjected to studies of the Vickers microhardness. The Vickers microhardness increases with the increase in applied load. The yield strength of the Sb2S3 crystal was determined as 3.081 GPa.