Sticking coefficients of selenium and tellurium

The sticking coefficients of selenium and tellurium were measured as a function of temperature. Molecular beams of the chalcogen elements supplied from thermal effusion cells were directed onto a heated quartz crystal microbalance, and the mass gain rate was detected as a function of temperature. Both sticking coefficients were found to sharply drop within a narrow temperature range of 20 and 30 °C from above 0.8 down to about 0.2 at film surface temperatures around 35 and 115 °C for selenium and tellurium, respectively. While the sticking coefficient of tellurium reached zero at temperatures above 150 °C, the sticking coefficient of selenium remained about 0.2 up to a film surface temperature of 60 °C, suggesting that selenium was supplied in different chemical forms. The direct and quantitative determination of the sticking coefficients provides important insights into the kinetics of chalcogenide-based film growth and points toward the need of a precise sample temperature control.