Synthesis and characterization of Zn0.5Hg0.5Se thin films

A controlled co-precipitation technique has been employed for the first time to grow cubic (ZnHg)Se semiconductor alloy thin films, based on the reaction of complexed Zn(NO3)2, Hg(NO3)2 with sodium selenosulphate (Na2SeSO3) in an aqueous ammoniacal medium at room temperature. The films were characterized by XRD, optical absorption, electrical measurements, scanning electron microscopy and EDAX. The ‘as-grown’ film was found to be uniform, well adherent, red and polycrystalline in a single cubic phase. The (ZnHg)Se film shows a direct band gap at 2.08 eV. The optical and electrical properties were found to be intermediate to those of extreme binary semiconductors thin films viz. HgSe and ZnSe.