Impurity- and defect-related luminescence of ZnSe:Fe at Low Temperatures

Abstract

Polycrystalline zinc selenide is doped with an iron impurity to a concentration of ~10¹⁹ cm⁻³ in a zinc vapor atmosphere by the thermal diffusion method, and the distribution profile of optically active iron Fe²⁺ is obtained. The effect of the Fe²⁺ concentration on impurity-and defect-related ZnSe luminescence spectra at low temperatures is determined. In the range of 1.28—1.31 eV, a luminescence line with a decay time of ~0.341 ms is detected, with its intensity increasing in regions with Fe²⁺ concentration close to the maximum one. The line is attributed to the luminescence center arising due to the Fe²⁺ interaction with a background impurity or defect in ZnSe.