Tailoring of physical properties of RF-sputtered ZnTe films: role of substrate temperature.

IF 2.6 4区 材料科学 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology Pub Date : 2025-03-05 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.3762/bjnano.16.25
Kafi Devi, Usha Rani, Arun Kumar, Divya Gupta, Sanjeev Aggarwal
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In this study, zinc telluride (ZnTe) films were grown on quartz substrates at room temperature, 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C using RF sputtering. The thickness of the films has been found to decrease from 940 nm at room temperature to 200 nm at 600 °C with increasing substrate temperature. The structural investigation using grazing incidence angle X-ray diffraction revealed that films deposited at room temperature are amorphous; those deposited at other substrate temperatures are polycrystalline with a cubic zincblende structure and a preferred orientation along the [111] direction. An increase in crystallite size (from 37.60 ± 0.42 Å to 68.88 ± 1.04 Å) is observed with increased substrate temperature. This leads to a reduction in microstrain and dislocation density. The optical studies using UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy reveal that the transmittance of films increases with substrate temperature. Further, the shift in transmittance threshold towards lower wavelengths with substrate temperature indicates that the optical bandgap of the films can be tuned from 1.47 ± 0.02 eV to 3.11 ± 0.14 eV. The surface morphology of the films studied using atomic force microscopy reveals that there is uniform grain growth on the surface. Various morphological parameters such as roughness, particle size, particle density, skewness, and kurtosis were determined. Current-voltage characteristics indicate that the conductivity of the films increased with substrate temperature. The observed variations in structural, morphological, and optical parameters have been discussed and correlated. The wide bandgap (3.11 eV), high crystallinity, high transmittance, and high conductivity of the ZnTe film produced at 600 °C make it a suitable candidate for use as a buffer layer in solar cell applications.

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来源期刊
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology NANOSCIENCE & NANOTECHNOLOGY-MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
CiteScore
5.70
自引率
3.20%
发文量
109
审稿时长
2 months
期刊介绍: The Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology is an international, peer-reviewed, Open Access journal. It provides a unique platform for rapid publication without any charges (free for author and reader) – Platinum Open Access. The content is freely accessible 365 days a year to any user worldwide. Articles are available online immediately upon publication and are publicly archived in all major repositories. In addition, it provides a platform for publishing thematic issues (theme-based collections of articles) on topical issues in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The journal is published and completely funded by the Beilstein-Institut, a non-profit foundation located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The editor-in-chief is Professor Thomas Schimmel – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He is supported by more than 20 associate editors who are responsible for a particular subject area within the scope of the journal.
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