Growth of flash evaporated ZnIn₂Se₄ thin films

The zinc indium selenide (ZnIn₂Se₄) was prepared by melting pure constituents in stoichiometric proportions and thin films of this material were grown by a flash evaporation technique. The bulk material and the films were characterized by X - ray and electron diffraction. The effect of substrate temperature on the orientation of the films has also been studied by electron diffraction. The films grown in the substrate range 473 K ≤ T_s ≤ 573 K have been identified to be single - phase, polycrystalline ZnIn₂Se₄ having a preferred (112) orientation. The surface morphology and roughness of the films were characterized by Atomic force microscopy. The implications are discussed.