Structural Studies of Mercury-Modified Amorphous Films of the Selenium-Antimony System

Abstract

The structure of mercury-modified amorphous films of the Se-Sb system was studied using the methods of X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy. It was ascertained that the structure of the phase that formed in the amorphous matrix of the films after their exposure in mercury vapor corresponds to the structure of crystalline mercury selenide in cubic modification. The structure of nominally pure and mercury-modified amorphous Se100Sbx films (x = 3, 5, 7, 9) was investigated using X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the matrix of nominally pure films is built mainly by elements of Se8 rings and Sen helical chains and contains a certain number of SbSe3/2 structural groups. Exposure of the films in mercury vapor leads to formation of mercury selenide (HgSe) crystalline inclusions in the cubic modification in their near-surface layers, as well as to the activation of the process of formation and growth of Se crystalline inclusions of the trigonal modification in the film bulk.