Structural and optical properties of copper enriched ZnSe thin films prepared by closed space sublimation technique

Thin films of Zn1−xCuxSe (0.00≤x≤0.20) have been prepared by the closed space sublimation technique. Various structural and optical properties have been investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectrophotometry, spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effect of Cu concentration has been observed on the physical properties of Zn1−xCuxSe films for varying concentrations of copper. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the films are polycrystalline having preferential orientation along the (111) plane. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) values obtained by XRD show that FWHM decreases up to 10% copper concentration while an opposite trend has been observed beyond this concentration. RMS values calculated by AFM shows that the deposited films have smooth morphology; crystallinity improves with increasing Cu concentration and optimum results are shown with 10% Cu concentration. Various optical parameters i.e. absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (k), reflectance (R), refractive index (n), optical conductivity (σop) and electrical conductivity (σel) have been determined using transmission spectra at different copper concentrations. From the reflection spectra it is observed that reflectance increases with the increase of copper concentration. The band gap energy has been determined using k spectra at various copper concentrations through spectroscopic ellipsometry. It is found that the band gap energy of the films decreases with the increase of copper concentration while dielectric constant increases. FTIR analysis revealed that the characteristic ZnSe bond stretching-vibrating mode occurs at 670.8 cm−1.