Combined electron diffraction/microanalysis investigation of crystallography and cation distributions in the transparent conductive oxide Cd_1+xIn_2-2xSn_xO₄

The distribution of Cd, In, and Sn cations on the spinel lattice was investigated across the solid solution, Cd_1+xIn_2-2xSH_xO₄. Convergent beam electron diffraction was used to establish the presence of the spinel crystallography throughout the solid solution. Atom location by channeling enhanced microanalysis was employed to determine the distributions of cations on the octahedral and tetrahedral lattice sites. CdIn₂O₄ was observed to be a normal-type spinel. As x was increased, the cation distribution became more random as Cd and Sn filled the octahedral sublattice. These observations may correlate with previously observed changes in optical gap and conductivity across the solution.