Growth and characterisation of n- and p-type ZnTe thin films for applications in electronic devices

The growth of n- and p-type ZnTe thin films have been achieved intrinsically by potentiostatic electrodeposition method using a 2-electrode system. Cyclic voltammogram have been used to obtain range of growth voltages required to form stoichiometric thin films of ZnTe. The ZnTe thin films have been electrodeposited (ED) on glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting substrates in aqueous solutions of ZnSO4·7H2O and TeO2. The films have been characterised for their structural, electrical, morphological, compositional and optical properties by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell measurements, DC conductivity measurements, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Optical absorption techniques. The XRD results reveal that the electroplated films are polycrystalline and have hexagonal crystal structure with the preferred orientation along (002) plane. UV–Visible spectrophotometer has been used for the bandgap determination of as-deposited and heat-treated ZnTe layers. The bandgap of the heat-treated ZnTe films are in the range (1.90–2.60) eV depending on the deposition potential. PEC cell measurements show that the ED-ZnTe films have both n- and p-type electrical conductivity. The DC conductivity measurements revealed that the average resistivity of n-ZnTe and p-ZnTe layers of equal thickness is of the order of 104 Ωcm; the magnitude of the electrical resistivity of p-ZnTe is almost five times greater than that of the n-ZnTe layer. Using the n- and p-type ZnTe layers, p-n homo-junction diodes with device structure of glass/FTO/n-ZnTe/p-ZnTe/Au were fabricated. The fabricated diodes showed rectification factor of 102, reverse saturation current of ∼10.0 nA and potential barrier height greater than 0.77 eV indicating electronic device quality of these layers. •Electrodeposition (ED) technique has been used to grow n- and p-type ZnTe layers.•n-ZnTe layers have been successfully grown for the first time by intrinsic doping.•p–n homo-junction diodes were fabricated from glass/FTO/n-ZnTe/p-ZnTe/Au.•The device structure glass/FTO/n-ZnTe/p-ZnTe/Au showed a rectifying behaviour.•The fabricated device structure showed electronic device qualities.