• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.732-737
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• 2018

We develop a purification process of $Hg_2Br_2$ raw powders using a physical vapor transport(PVT) process, which is essential for the fabrication of a high performance acousto-optic tunable filter(AOTF) module. Specifically, we characterize and compare three $Hg_2Br_2$ powders: $Hg_2Br_2$ raw powder, $Hg_2Br_2$ powder purified under pumping conditions, and $Hg_2Br_2$ powder purified under vacuum sealing. Before and after purification, we characterize the powder samples through X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corresponding results indicate that physical properties of the $Hg_2Br_2$ compound are not damaged even after the purification process. The impurities and concentration in the purified $Hg_2Br_2$ powder are evaluated by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy. Notably, compared to the sample purified under pumping conditions, the purification process under vacuum sealing results in a higher purity $Hg_2Br_2$ (99.999 %). In addition, when the second vacuum sealing purification process is performed, the remaining impurities are almost removed, giving rise to $Hg_2Br_2$ with ultra-high purity. This high purification process might be possible due to independent control of impurities and $Hg_2Br_2$ materials under the optimized vacuum sealing. Preparation of such a highly purified $Hg_2Br_2$ materials will pave a promising way toward a high-quality $Hg_2Br_2$ single crystal and then high performance AOTF modules.