The present paper describes research on the mechanical properties and related dislocation structure of CdTe, a II-VI semiconductor compound with a wide range of uses in electrical and optical devices. At room temperature CdTe exhibits little plasticity and at the same time relatively low strength and hardness. The mechanical behavior of CdTe was examined at elevated temperatures with the goal of understanding plastic flow in this material and eventually improving the room temperature properties. Several samples of single crystal CdTe of identical size and crystallographic orientation were deformed in compression at 300°C to various levels of total strain. A resolved shear stress vs. compressive glide strain curve (Figure la) was derived from the results of the tests and the knowledge of the sample orientation.
