Elaboration and characterization of a KCl single crystal doped with nanocrystals of a Sb2O3 semiconductor

Abstract

Undoped and doped KCl single crystals have been successfully elaborated via the Czochralski (Cz) method. The effects of dopant Sb2O3 nanocrystals on structural and optical properties were investigated by a number of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis, UV-visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometers. An XRD pattern of KCl:Sb2O3 reveals that the Sb2O3 nanocrystals are in the well-crystalline orthorhombic phase. The broadening of diffraction peaks indicated the presence of a Sb2O3 semiconductor in the nanometer size regime. The shift of absorption and PL peaks is observed near 334 nm and 360 nm respectively due to the quantum confinement effect in Sb2O3 nanocrystals. Particle sizes calculated from XRD studies agree fairly well with those estimated from optical studies. An SEM image of the surface KCl:Sb2O3 single crystal shows large quasi-spherical of Sb2O3 crystallites scattered on the surface. The elemental analysis from EDAX demonstrates that the KCl:Sb2O3 single crystal is slightly rich in oxygen and a source of excessive quantities of oxygen is discussed.