The aggregation of Fe(3+) and their d–d radiative transitions in ZnSe:Fe(3+) nanobelts by CVD growth

Transition metal (TM) doped II–VI semiconductors have attracted great attention due to their luminescence and diluted magnetism. In this study, the Fe(3+)-doped ZnSe nanobelts (NBs) were grown by a facile CVD method. The surface morphology observed via SEM is smooth and clean and the elemental composition measured via EDS confirms that the Fe(3+) ions were incorporated into ZnSe NBs successfully. The micro-Raman scattering spectra demonstrate that the as-prepared NBs have the zinc blende structure. Furthermore, the Raman spectra of the Fe(3+)-doped NBs were compared with those of pure and Fe(2+)-doped reference samples. The former with a higher signal-to-noise ratio, an enhanced 2LO mode, a stronger LO mode redshift and a larger intensity ratio of LO/TO mode as well as the lower acoustic phonon modes confirms the better crystallization and the stronger electron–phonon coupling on Fe(3+)-incorporation. The emission of single Fe(3+) ion, assigned to the (4)T(1) → (6)A(1) transition, was observed at about 570 nm. Moreover, increasing the doping concentration of Fe(3+) ions caused the formation of different Fe–Fe coupled pairs in the lattice, which emitted light at about 530–555 nm for an antiferromagnetic-coupled pair, possibly due to the stacking faults and at about 620–670 nm for a ferromagnetic-coupled pair.