We report the results of our study of the electron irradiation effect
(E = 6 MeV, ) on the galvanomagnetic ( K, T) properties of gallium-doped PbTe, and Pb1−ySnyTe (y = 0.19,0.23)
narrow-gap semiconductors. Depending on the features of the initial electronic structure of the alloys,
a p–n-inversion, a transition from metal to insulating or from insulating to metal-type conductivity
and an increase in the free electron density under electron irradiation were revealed. The
rate of defect generation under irradiation was found to be abnormally high for
A4B6
materials. The activation character of the temperature dependences of the galvanomagnetic
parameters, caused by the presence of deep gallium-induced defect levels in the gap, was
observed for the alloys in the insulating state. The results were explained assuming that
electron irradiation of gallium-doped PbTe-based alloys creates primarily donor-like defects,
which leads to an increase of the electron concentration and a change in the occupancy of
the allowed and localized bands. Additionally, electron irradiation seems to cause a change
in the charge activity of gallium centres within the bulk, providing a high rate of defect
generation.