Vapor–liquid–solid synthesis of Ag2Te using chemical vapor deposition method
Ha Heun Lee,
Subin Lee,
Geunwoo Hwang,
Seungyeon Lee,
Suyeon Cho
Affiliations
Ha Heun Lee
Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
Subin Lee
Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
Geunwoo Hwang
Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
Seungyeon Lee
Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
Suyeon Cho
Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate Program in System Health Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
Silver telluride, Ag2Te, has been selectively synthesized by conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) via the vapor–liquid–solid growth mechanism. The pre-deposited Ag film on the SiO2/Si substrate was chemically reacted with vaporized Te atoms and transformed into liquid-phase Ag–Te during the CVD process. The appropriate supply of Te vapor to the Ag film influenced the stoichiometry of Ag–Te compounds, and the formation of stoichiometric Ag–Te compounds was well-explained by the phase diagram of the Ag–Te system. We found that Ag2Te was grown in the liquid of Ag–Te under the Te-poor condition, while Ag5Te3 and Te were simultaneously solidified under the Te-rich condition. The high-temperature synthesis of Ag2Te showed higher crystallinity and better stoichiometry than the low-temperature synthesis. This study demonstrates that Ag2Te can be selectively synthesized by conventional CVD via delicate control over the phases of the complex Ag–Te system.