Structural and optical properties of ZnTe thin films growth by PLD

F.J. Ochoa-Estrella1, I. Mejia2, A. Vera-Marquina1, A.L. Leal-Cruz1, and M. Quevedo-López2. 1Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora, Rosales y Luis Encinas, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, México... [ view full abstract ]

F.J. Ochoa-Estrella1, I. Mejia2, A. Vera-Marquina1, A.L. Leal-Cruz1, and M. Quevedo-López2.
1Departamento de Investigación en Física, Universidad de Sonora, Rosales y Luis Encinas, Hermosillo, Sonora, 83000, México
2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, USA.

Abstract
Thin films of ZnTe have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique. Several experiments were performed considering stoichiometric condition at 559 K and pressure was varied as follows: 1, 10, 20, 50, and 100 mT. Deposited films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Structural investigations performed by X-ray diffraction technique showed that studied samples are all polycrystalline, belonging to the cubic phase of zinc-blende with a preferential orientation in the plane (111). Also, XRD patterns were used to determine the microstructural parameters, such as: crystallite sizes and lattice constants. Surface morphology studies by SEM shows grain clusters in a circular pattern distributed over the entire surface of the substrate. Film thicknesses and grain size behaviors show an increase as function of pressure increasing. Optical properties of ZnTe films were extensively studied in the range of incident light wavelength (400 to 1000 nm), exhibiting band gap values between 2.51 and 2.58 eV.