Zinc sulphide films doped with terbium chloride and samarium chloride, prepared by spray pyrolysis

Undoped, TbCl3-doped and SmCl3-doped zinc sulphide films have been prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique using air as the carrier gas at atmospheric pressure. The doped films show strong photoluminescent emission with a dominant peak at about 460 nm. This peak is characteristic of chlorine-doped zinc sulphide phosphors. The films have poor crystallinity with a cubic crystalline structure. The optical transmission characteristics of these films show an absorption edge shifted to shorter wavelengths compared with those of the undoped films.