Effects of Cu2+ ion incorporation into ZnTe nanocrystals dispersed within a glass matrix

Abstract This paper reports on the optical, morphological, structural and magnetic properties of Zn 1- x Cu x Te nanocrystals, doped with Cu ( x varying from 0.000 to 0.100) and grown by thermal annealing at 500 °C in a P 2 O 5 –ZnO–Al 2 O 3 –BaO–PbO glass system that had been synthesized by fusion. At higher levels of Cu-doping, optical absorption (OA) showed that Cu 2+ ions were incorporated within and dispersed throughout the lattice of the ZnTe semiconductor. The OA spectra also showed that the growth kinetics of these NCs were influenced by the Cu 2+ magnetic ions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the lattice parameter of the nanocrystals was not affected by the incorporation of Cu 2+ ions. Finally, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the Cu 2+ ions showed asymmetrical hyperfine lines as well as proved a substitutive incorporation of Cu 2+ in ZnTe NCs.