The surface chemistry of polished zinc selenide and etched zinc selenide substrates was studied and compared towards supporting the formation of thiolate and carboxylate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Analysis of SAMs formed on the etched substrates shows that the etch promotes adsorption of the carboxylate SAMs, but inhibits the adsorption of thiolate SAMs. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated that the etch solution removed the native oxide layer from the ZnSe surface. The etched surface is also passivated, with the regeneration of the native oxide layer considerably slowed as compared to an unetched fracture surface. To study the rate of the reformation of the native oxide, XPS measurements were performed 4 and 28 days after the substrate was etched and the eventual reformation of the native oxide layer was observed. Characterization of the surface using XPS and SIMS is ongoing to further characterize the species present on the surface. Of particular interest is the O1s peak, which remains present in the XPS spectrum, despite the removal of the zinc and selenium oxides by the etch.

Characterization of oxide layers on zinc selenide

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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