Growth of ZnTe single crystals from Te solution by vertical Bridgman method with ACRT

Abstract ZnTe ingots 30 mm in diameter and about 60 mm in length were grown from Te solution based on vertical Bridgman method with accelerated crucible rotation technique (ACRT). The composition homogeneity and the optical and electrical properties of the crystals were investigated using optical transmission microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer and digital electrometer. The growth method was found efficient for mass transfer, and produced large size single crystal with the volume up to 10 mm×10 mm×40 mm. Single crystals formed in the earlier stage of growth process are larger in size with less Te inclusions. Secondary inclusions formed due to thermal migration and crystal cracking were found. The IR transmittance over the wavenumber range from 500 to 4000 cm −1 is about 60%, and the band gap is about 2.23 eV at room temperature (RT). Its resistivity can reach up to about 700 Ω cm, which is the highest ever reported for unintentionally doped ZnTe crystal.

[1]  T. Asahi,et al.  ZnTe single crystal growth by the liquid encapsulated pulling method , 2004 .

[2]  A. Witt,et al.  On control of the crystal-melt interface shape during growth in a vertical bridgman configuration , 1985 .

[3]  C. Luo,et al.  Saturation of the free carrier absorption in ZnTe crystals. , 2013, Optics express.

[4]  V. Distanov,et al.  The influence of accelerated crucible rotation mode on the melt temperature field in the Stockbarger technique , 2001 .

[5]  D. R. Reddy,et al.  Optical and electrical properties of vapour phase grown Zn1 − xCrxTe crystals , 2010 .

[6]  Ning Dai,et al.  Growth and characterization of <110> oriented ZnTe single crystal , 2007, SPIE/COS Photonics Asia.

[7]  K. Zanio.  Purification of CdTe from, tellurium-rich solutions , 1974 .

[8]  P. Prete,et al.  Homoepitaxy of ZnTe on (100) oriented substrates: Technology issues and MOVPE growth aspects , 2005 .

[9]  Kenji Sato,et al.  Growth and Characterization of Large Diameter ZnTe Single Crystals , 2002 .

[10]  Zhang Lei,et al.  Growth and Characteristics of ZnTe Single Crystal for THz Technology , 2008 .

[11]  P. Rudolph.  Non‐stoichiometry related defects at the melt growth of semiconductor compound crystals – a review , 2003 .

[12]  B. Roux,et al.  Effects of accelerated crucible rotation on segregation and interface morphology for vertical Bridgman crystal growth: Visualization and simulation , 2007 .

[13]  E. Schulz-dubois,et al.  Flux growth of large crystals by accelerated crucible-rotation technique , 1971 .

[14]  P. Rudolph,et al.  Distribution and genesis of inclusions in CdTe and (Cd,Zn)Te single crystals grown by the Bridgman method and by the travelling heater method , 1995 .

[15]  R. Morandotti,et al.  Generation of 1.5 microJ single-cycle terahertz pulses by optical rectification from a large aperture ZnTe crystal. , 2007, Optics express.

[16]  Xicheng Zhang,et al.  Materials for terahertz science and technology , 2002, Nature materials.

[17]  S. Takeuchi,et al.  Stacking-fault energy of II–VI compounds , 1985 .

[18]  M. Dudley,et al.  Growth of ZnTe by physical vapor transport and traveling heater method , 1993 .

[19]  Kenji Sato,et al.  Growth of large diameter ZnTe single crystals by the LEK method , 2004 .

[20]  J. C. Phillips.  Ionicity of the Chemical Bond in Crystals , 1970 .

[21]  Hiroshi Saito,et al.  Annealing effects of a high-quality ZnTe substrate , 2004 .

[22]  W. Uen,et al.  Characterizations of ZnTe bulks grown by temperature gradient solution growth , 2004 .

[23]  Kenji Sato,et al.  Growth of large-diameter ZnTe single crystals by the vertical gradient freezing method , 2001 .

[24]  S. Adachi,et al.  Photoreflectance study in the E1 and E1+Delta1 transition regions of ZnTe , 2000 .

[25]  G. Popa,et al.  On the electronic transport and optical properties of ZnTe thin films , 2005 .

[26]  D. N. Bose,et al.  Microwave synthesis, single crystal growth and characterization of ZnTe , 1998 .

[27]  S. Adachi,et al.  Optical properties of ZnTe , 1993 .

[28]  S. Adachi,et al.  Photoreflectance study in the E1 and E1+Δ1 transition regions of CdTe , 2000 .

[29]  V. I. Konstantinov,et al.  Growth and spectroscopic characterization of Cr:ZnTe laser crystals , 2005, CLEO/Europe. 2005 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe, 2005..

[30]  Kenji Sato,et al.  Growth of large-diameter ZnTe single crystals by liquid-encapsulated melt growth methods , 2004 .

[31]  P. Capper.  The role of accelerated crucible rotation in the growth of Hg1−xCdxTe and CdTe/CdZnTe , 1994 .

[32]  Arnold Migus,et al.  Generation of ultrabroadband femtosecond pulses in the mid‐infrared by optical rectification of 15 fs light pulses at 100 MHz repetition rate , 1995 .