Deposition of ZnS films by RF magnetron sputtering: Structural and optical properties using Z-scan technique

Deposition of zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films on Si (1 0 0) and glass substrates has been performed using RF magnetron sputtering method. Film structure has been analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), while the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images have been used to explore the film morphology. FTIR and Raman spectroscopies have been used to confirm the film composition. The stoichiometry has been verified by Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) technique. The XRD patterns have indicated that the films possess a polycrystalline nanocrystallite cubic structure. The optical properties of the grown films were characterized by optical transmittance measurements (UV-Vis). The deduced energy bandgaps of the films show an increase from 3.75 eV to 3.88 eV with the power source changes from 90 W to 125 W. Furthermore, Z-scan technique (CW diode laser lambda = 635 nm) was employed to estimate the nonlinear optical absorption of the prepared ZnS films.