Growth and characterization of ZnTe nanowires grown in a large scale by a CVD method

• ZnTe nanowires were grown in a large scale by tellurization of zinc sheets for the first time.
• A comparison study between XPS and PL results was carried out.
• Deposition temperature induced Te vacancy in the nanowires is the main factor to appear defects.

ZnTe nanowires were grown in a large scale by tellurization of zinc sheets in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) set-up. The zinc sheets were placed in three temperature zones in a tube furnace. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that, the ZnTe nanowires were grown with bigger diameter in the higher temperature. The phase and composition of the product were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The XPS results showed that, the Te concentration was higher for the sample that was placed in the higher temperature. In addition, these nanowires produced a strong photoluminescence (PL) emission peak in the green region and a weak peak in the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Furthermore, a comparison study between the XPS and PL was carried out to understand origin of the defect emission of ZnTe nanowires.