Abstract
In the current study, we report the effect of the ytterbium nanosandwiching on the structural, optical and dielectric properties of the CdSe thin film. The Yb nanosandwiched layer thickness is varied in the range of 10–200nm. The structural analysis which was carried out by the X-ray diffraction technique has shown that while the grain size increases, the strain, the defect density and the stacking faults are all decreases with increasing Yb thickness in the range of 10–100nm. Further increase in the Yb thickness to 200nm decreased the grain size and increased the values of the other structural parameters. Optically, the CdSe absorbability increased 2.6 times at 1.41eV and the energy band gap redshifts with increasing Yb slab thickness reaching a value of 1.29eV for a slab thickness of 200nm. On the other hand, the dielectric spectra displayed two peaks at 2.11 and 1.60eV for the double layer CdSe films. These two peaks which were assigned to the exciton and electronic transitions, respectively, are observed to redshifts with increasing Yb slab thickness.
•Ytterbium slabs of various thicknesses (10–200nm) were inserted between two layers of CdSe.•The CdSe/Yb/CdSe films are structurally and optically characterized.•The effect of the Yb slab thicknesses on the optical and structural parameters are investigated.•The dielectric dispersion as functions of Yb thicknesses are also considered.