Growth of ZnTe Semiconductor Crystal Via a Te Flux Zone Melting Method and Characterization of Its Properties

In this work, a kind of II;-VI group ZnTe semiconductor crystal is successfully grown using a Te flux zone melting method from Zn: Te = 3: 7 mole ratio solution. The crystal has standard F43m cubic space group and the a/b/c lattice constants are all calculated to be 6.105 Å. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis confirms it has quasistoichiometric ratio and the Zn/Te elements are distributed in the material homogeneously. The polished 1.0 mm thickness (110) wafer exhibits a highest ≈64.5% transmittance near 2400 nm wavelength and the bandgap E_g is deduced as 2.223 eV. ZnTe crystal shows a heavy volatilization start from 910 °C and the weight losing speed is about ≈1.45% min⁻¹. The thermal conductivity k displays good repeatability in the cooling and heating stages, the k value is about 15.8 Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹ at room temperature and is deceased to 3.53 Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹ under 500 °C. These results would be of great reference when ZnTe crystal is used for device design and application in the future.