Growth of epitaxial doped strontium sulfide thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Epitaxial luminescent thin films of doped strontium sulfide (SrS) have been grown using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). SrS films double doped with Eu and Sm, Ce and Sm and Cu and Ge were deposited with thicknesses ranging fro m 0.05 to 2 mum on MgO(001) substrates. Optical microscopy, scanning electr on microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis were used to study the films' surface morphology. The PLD-grown films were highly orien ted as determined by their X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra and showed signs of little or no strain, and very low lattice mismatch when deposited on Mg O. The best results were obtained for films deposited between 750 and 800 d egreesC and under H2S background pressures ranging from 10 to 20 mtorr. The thermally-stimulated luminescence properties of these films were evaluated as well. The data indicate that these films would be well-suited for displ ay applications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.