Effects of grain refinement on surface enhancement of thin-film chlorine-doped crystalline selenium

In this study, the surface enhancement of thin-film crystalline selenium (c-Se) is successfully demonstrated through grain refinement using chlorine (Cl) doping. We fabricated c-Se films via doping with various halogens, such as Cl, bromine (Br), and iodine (I). In particular, for Cl, we prepared c-Se films with different doping concentrations of 0, 50, and 500 ppm on glass substrates to investigate the details of concentration effects on surface enhancement. The long helical chains of Se atoms that comprise a large molecule in hexagonal Se, which is the most stable form of Se, are terminated via halogen doping into Se, leading to a marked reduction in the size of polycrystalline grains. In addition, the grain size of c-Se sharply decreases as the Cl doping concentration is increased. The mean surface roughness of a 500-ppm-Cl-doped c-Se film measured via atomic force microscopy decreased to approximately one-fourth that of the equivalent undoped c-Se film. This is a promising technology that could bring great benefits to c-Se-based imaging devices.