A Comparative Study of Multi-Thickness Zinc Telluride (ZnTe) Thin-Film Properties Fabricated Using a Software Controlled PLD Substrate Holder System at Different Deposition Temperatures

Abstract

Abstract:Multi-thickness polycrystalline zinc telluride (ZnTe) thin films were successfully deposited on TEC-15 glass substrates at different deposition temperatures ranging from 200C0 to 400C0 by a pulsedlaser technique. Two different sample sets of multi thicknesses (500nm, 750nm, and 1000nm) filmshave been fabricated on the same substrate using a designed software program to control a movingsubstrate holder that moves horizontally and vertically behind a metal blocker. This study shows thepossibility of fabricating different thickness layers on the same substrate in one fabrication processusing moving substrate PLD holder during the deposition. Atomic Force Microscopy indicated animprovement in the average crystallite size with the increase in film thickness and substratedeposition temperature. As well as higher surface roughness Ra was indicated for thicker layersfabricated at high temperature. XRD properties indicate that the fabricated samples arepolycrystalline, and the films exhibit preferred orientation along the (111-cubic) direction, which isstronger at the highest substrate temperature and thicker layers. This study discusses the strongdependency of crystalline quality on the deposition temperature and thin film thicknesses.