Comparative Mössbauer spectroscopic study of iron impurities in ZnSe

Abstract An anomalous spectral doublet attributed to Fe 2+ impurity pairs is observed in Mossbauer absorption spectra of 57 Fe 0.01 Zn 0.99 Se below room temperature. In Mossbauer emission experiments, ZnSe: 57 Co polycrystal and powder sources exhibit below 45 K the nucleogenic Fe 1+ valence state born as an after effect of the electron-capture decay of 57 Co. Above 8 K, the proportion of the nucleogenic Fe 1+ decreases under the effect of the thermally activated Fe 1+ →Fe 2+ relaxation. The activation energy is estimated to 0.004 eV. While nucleogenic Fe 1+ is absent in ZnSe: 57 Co single crystal spectra, increasing proportions are detected in samples with an enhanced specific surface. Th…