Nanoscale semiconductor Pb1a degree x Sn x Se (x =0.2) thin films synthesized by electrochemical atomic layer deposition

• Published in: Applied surface science 2011-04, Vol.257 (13), p.5803-5807
• Main Authors: Lin, Shaoxiong, Zhang, Xin, Shi, Xuezhao, Wei, Jinping, Lu, Daban, Zhang, Yuzhen, Kou, Huanhuan, Wang, Chunming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Deposition; Deposits; Lead (metal); Nanostructure; Semiconductors; Thin films; Tin; X-rays
• ISSN: 0169-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2011.01.108

. Display Omitted a-[ordm The semiconductor is synthesized at room temperature by electrochemical atomic layer deposition (EC-ALD) a-[ordm The SEM demonstrates that the EC-ALD methodology is promising in controlling the Pb1a degree x Sn x Se (x =0.2) compounds' growth and forming homogeneous deposits at nanometer scale. a-[ordm The excellent photoelectric performance of the compound is verified with a light on-off test. In this paper the fabrication and characterization of IV-VI semiconductor Pb1a degree x Sn x Se (x =0.2) thin films on gold substrate by electrochemical atomic layer deposition (EC-ALD) method at room temperature are reported. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used to determine approximate deposition potentials for each element. The amperometric I-t technique is used to fabricate the semiconductor alloy. The elements are deposited in the following sequence: (Se/Pb/Se/Pb/Se/Pb/Se/Pb/Se/Sn a[brvbar]), each period is formed using four ALD cycles of PbSe followed by one cycle of SnSe. Then the deposition manner above is cyclic repeated till a satisfactory film with expected thickness of Pb1a degree x Sn x Se is obtained. The morphology of the deposit is observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern is used to study its crystalline structure; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the deposit indicates an approximate ratio 1.0:0.8:0.2 of Se, Pb and Sn, as the expected stoichiometry for the deposit. Open-circuit potential (OCP) studies indicate a good p-type property, and the good optical activity makes it suitable for fabricating a photoelectric switch.