Growth of ZnCdS single crystals and prospects of their application as nanoporous structures

Abstract

Substrates of wide band-gap II–VI semiconductor compounds are considered feasible for the fabrication of nanoporous matrices (NM) needed for templated growth of nanowires and nanotubes of solid-state materials promising for applications in various fields. An accessible and cost-effective approach to fabricate NM is based on electrochemical etching (ECE) which, however, depends on the electrical conductivity of the substrates. In this paper, growth of homogeneous ZnxCd1−xS single crystals, with x varying from 0 to 1, is demonstrated and the influence of chemical composition on optical and electrical properties of the crystals is identified. The feasibility of using ZnxCd1−xS alloys with x = 0–0.6 for the growth of nanopore arrays with pore diameter down to 30 nm is shown. The perspectives and limitations of the use of these semiconductor alloys for the fabrication of NM by means of ECE are discussed.