Study of electrophysical properties of (ZnSe)1-x(Nd₂Se₃)x solid solution alloys
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21080571Keywords:
ZnSe, Nd₂Se₃, solid solution, electrical conductivity, activation energy, rare-earth elements, electrophysical propertiesAbstract
In this work, the electrical and electrophysical properties of the (ZnSe)₁₋ₓ(Nd₂Se₃)ₓ solid solution system belonging to II–VI group semiconductor materials were investigated. ZnSe-based semiconductors are widely used in modern optoelectronics and photonics due to their wide band gap, high optical transparency, and favorable electrical characteristics. Doping these materials with rare-earth elements makes it possible to purposefully control and improve their functional properties. Samples of the (ZnSe)₁₋ₓ(Nd₂Se₃)ₓ system with different compositions were synthesized by the solid-state reaction method using high-purity starting components sealed in evacuated quartz ampoules. The electrical conductivity of the samples was studied in the temperature range of 300–600 K, and the activation energies were calculated from the temperature dependences. It was found that the electrical conductivity increases with increasing Nd₂Se₃ content, whereas the activation energy decreases. This behavior can be explained by the formation of donor-type energy levels by neodymium ions in the crystal lattice, which leads to an increase in the concentration of free electrons. The obtained results showed that the system exhibits predominantly n-type conductivity, with electrons serving as the main charge carriers. It was established that at low temperatures the conductivity is governed by hopping mechanisms between defect levels, while at higher temperatures it is determined by band conduction mechanisms. The local lattice distortions and structural defects introduced by Nd ions were found to play a significant role in the formation of the electrical properties of the material. The results indicate that the (ZnSe)₁₋ₓ(Nd₂Se₃)ₓ system is a promising semiconductor material with controllable electrophysical parameters and potential applications in optoelectronic devices, infrared technology, photosensitive elements, and other functional electronic systems.
References
1. Singh N. B., Su C. H., Sood R. (2020), Effect of doping on the electrical characteristics of ZnSe, Crystals, 10(7) 1-11, DOI: 10.3390/cryst10070551
2. Sureshkumar S., Jothimani B., Sridhar T et al. (2016), Synthesis and characterization of gadolinium-doped ZnSe quantum dots for fluorescence imaging of cancer cells RSC Advances, 6(19) 16081-16086 DOI: 10.1039/c5ra18773g
3. Liu S., Zhang Q., Zhang L. et al. (2016) Electrochemiluminescence Tuned by Electron-Hole Recombination from Symmetry-Breaking in Wurtzite ZnSe. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 138(4), 1154–1157. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b12727.
4. Zhou J., Li Y., Wu X., Qin W. Modulating the Electronic and Optical Properties of Tetragonal ZnSe Monolayers by Chalcogen Dopants. ChemPhysChem, 2016, 17(13), 1993–1998. DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201600089.
5. Dafinei I., Nagorny S., Pirro S. et al. Production of 82Se Enriched Zinc Selenide Crystals for the Study of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2017.02.058.
6. Makhniy V.P., Kinzerska O.V., Senko I.M., Slyotov O.M. High Temperature Luminescence of ZnSe Crystals. Technology and Design in Electronic Equipment, 2016. DOI: 10.15222/TKEA2016.2-3.37.
7. Emerging Blue Emitting Cerium(III) Ions Doped Zinc Selenide Thin Films with High Color Purity for LED Applications. Physica B: Condensed Matter, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.physb.2025.418154.
8. Synthesis, Structure and Spectroscopic Properties of Dy3+-Doped ZnSe Quantum Dots. Ceramics International, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2026.05.236.
9. Fu S, Xiao Q, Tang H et al. First Principles Study on Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Lu Doped GaN at Different Doping Concentration, Guangxue Xuebao/Acta Optica Sinica (2024) 44(9) DOI: 10.3788/AOS231938
10. Hessien S., Tokgöz S. C., Mestre X., Secrecy Analysis of Generalized Space-Shift Keying Aided Visible Light Communication, EEE Access (2019) 7(2) 1-10, ISSN: 2169-3536 VO - 7
11. Shi H., Zhang P., Li S.S., Xia J.B. Magnetic Coupling Properties of Rare-Earth Metals Doped Semiconductors: First-Principles Calculations. Journal of Applied Physics, 2010.
12. Sabat K, Physics and chemistry of solid state direct reduction of iron ore by hydrogen plasma, Physics and Chemistry of Solid State (2021) 22(2) 292-300, DOI: 10.15330/PCSS.22.2.292-300
13. West A.R. Solid State Chemistry and Its Applications. 2nd ed. Wiley, 2019.
14. Kasap S.O. Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices. McGraw-Hill, 2018.
15. Russak M, Reichman J., Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe / CdSe Thin Film Electrodes in Aqueous Polysulfide Electrolyte, Journal of The Electrochemical Society (2012) 129(3) 542-545, DOI: 10.1149/1.2123896
16. Mott N.F., Davis E.A. Electronic Processes in Non-Crystalline Materials. Oxford University Press, 2017.
17. Wang N, Meng F, Zhang L, Liu Z, Liu W, Light soaking of hydrogenated amorphous silicon: a short review, Carbon Neutrality, DOI: 10.1007/s43979-024-00093-9
18. Kreher K, Fundamentals of Semiconductors – Physics and Materials Properties, Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie (1997) 198(1-2) 275-275, DOI: 10.1524/zpch.1997.198.part_1_2.275
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Horizon Multidisciplinary Scientific Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
