Synthesis and characteristics of Zn1-xCrxSe composite thin film materials

ZnSe and Zn1-xCrxSe (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.35) composite thin films were deposited by a chemical growth technique. The energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, optical and electrical transport techniques were used to study the characteristic properties of thin composite films. An EDS analysis showed that the expected elements (Zn, Se and Cr) exist in the thin solid films. XRD analysis confirmed hexagonal wurtzite structure with dominant preferred orientation along <100>. SEM studies revealed that, both ZnSe and Zn1-xCrxSe films grow in a definite fashion. AFM images showed formation of almost spherical crystallites of ZnSe and Zn1−xCrxSe. The optical bandgaps of Zn1−xCrxSe films found to be decreased from 2.71 eV to 2.53 eV for the change of x from 0 to 0.05. The electrical conductivity of Zn1−xCrxSe films found to be increased continuously with x up to 0.05 and then decreased for higher x-values.