Optical properties of ZnS:Mn nanocrystals

Abstract

The optical properties of Mn‐doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrix are studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The crystals are obtained by sequential multi‐energy ion implantation of Zn, S, and Mn into a silica layer grown on Si(111) followed by a subsequent annealing for 30 min at 900 °C. The formation of the nanocrystals is evidenced by transmission electron microscopy. The application of a critical‐point based model for the analysis of the SE data yields die dielectric function (DF) between 0.6 and 6.5 eV. A pronounced shift of the absorption edge towards higher energies is detected for the nanocrystals In comparison to bulk ZnS (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)