Structural characterization and refractive index dispersion analysis of HgSe thin films grown by reactive solutions

Reproducible and good quality HgSe thin films can be grown at room temperature on microscopic glass substrates using the reactive solutions process. The x- ray diffraction patterns for the as- grown films, as well as those for the precipitated powder collected from the bath at the end of the chemical reaction, revealed a polycrystalline structure corresponding to the cubic phase. The surface topography and the elemental chemical composition of HgSe thin films grown on a carbon stub were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The optical properties of HgSe thin films grown onto glass substrates were investigated from the recorded transmission and reflection data in the wavelength range 700 - 2500 nm. The refractive index dispersion of the as- grown films was characterized on the basis of simple dispersion theory, from which the average oscillator position, lambda(o), average oscillator strength, S-o, and the high frequency dielectric constant, e(infinity), were calculated. Graphical representations of the surface and volume energy loss functions were also presented.