Structural and optical characterization of zinc sulfide thin films obtained from ore sphalerite

• Published in: Materials letters 2024-07, Vol.367, p.136634, Article 136634
• Main Authors: Perales Escobedo, A., Onyekachi, K., Reyes-Rojas, A., Pizá-Ruiz, P., Zaragoza-Galán, G., Esparza-Ponce, H.E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ores; Thermal evaporation; Thin films; Zinc sulfide
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2024.136634

•ZnS thin films from purified ores, without chemical synthesis.•Thin films obtained by thermal evaporation one step with photoluminescence properties.•The cubic phase has a strongly (111) preferred orientation.•ZnS thin films suitable for optoelectronic applications. Zinc sulfide thin films, derived from purified sphalerite ore, were deposited on glass substrates using thermal evaporation. Thin films were obtained directly without any additional chemical processes. The structural and optical characterization of zinc sulfide thin films were investigated. Notably, the diffraction peaks such as (111), (220), and (311), correspond to the cubic structure of zinc sulfide thin films. The increase in layer thickness, from 165.95 nm in one layer to 336.30 nm for two layers, and 563.77 nm for three layers. Results revealed an optical band gap ranging from 3.35 to 3.6 eV and the absorption wavelength in the 300 to 380 nm Uv–Visible spectra range. The morphology of films exhibited a semispherical shape within the grain size increasing from 100 to 300 nm, and the photoluminescence emission bands are intense in the blue and green regions. Thus, this research contributes to the ongoing quest for interesting applications of semiconductors.