Effect of an Electric Field on the Crystallization Behavior of Amorphous TlIn_1–xSn_xSe₂ Films

Abstract—

Crystallization kinetics of 30-nm-thick amorphous TlIn_1 – xSn_xSe₂ films produced by thermal evaporation under high vacuum in a dc electric field E = 3000 V/cm have been studied by kinematic electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that the formation of the crystal structure of the amorphous films during heat treatment follows Avrami–Kolmogorov relations. Kinetic curves of the phase transformation demonstrate the effect of an electric field on the temperature range of film crystallization and on the activation energies for nucleation and subsequent nucleus growth. The total activation energy for the crystallization process has been determined to be E_total = 44.92 kcal/mol. The observed diffraction lines of the polycrystalline TlIn_0.93Sn_0.07Sе₂ films in their kinematic electron diffraction patterns can be indexed in tetragonal symmetry (sp. gr. $D_{{4{\text{h}}}}^{{18}}$ = I4/mcm [12]) with unit-cell parameters a = b = 0.8358 nm and c = 0.7086 nm. After storage of the films in vacuum at room temperature for more than two months, no changes were detected in their quality or diffraction pattern.