ZnS nanowires growth on two different types of substrate using simple thermal evaporation method

Abstract

ZnS nanowires films were grown on two different substrates silicon and glass, with PbS dopant at 5 wt.%, using thermal evaporation method. The silicon is single crystal (only Si), while the glass is as amorphous substrate (mainly SiO2). In the used substrates, the morphology was confirmed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images (cross-section and surface). High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) has been used to confirm the ZnO nanowires for doped films (PbS:ZnS) in both silicon and glass substrates, with diameter less than 50 nm and the thickness was varied from 2000 nm to 3000 nm. The undoped film has dense structure and is thin with thickness of 200 nm. The growth of nanowires is not affected by the two substrate types (silicon and glass). The compositions of chemical films have been verified by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and it confirms that ZnS is the main compound. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) investigated the crystallographic properties with wurtzite structure. Optical properties (transparency and bandgap) were deduced from UltraViolet Visible (UV-Vis) spectra of ZnS films (PbS 0 and 5 wt.%) deposited on glass substrate. Raman, Photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques confirm ZnS composition and its nonstructural growth. Finally, a good agreement between the XRD, FTIR and HRTEM analyses was found.