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| Zinc selenide | |
|---|---|
| Name | Zinc selenide |
| Formula | ZnSe |
| Molar mass | 144.38 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | colorless to yellow crystalline solid |
| Density | 5.27 g·cm−3 |
| Melting point | 1525 °C |
| Boiling point | decomposition |
| Solubility | insoluble in water |
| Crystal system | cubic (zincblende) or hexagonal (wurtzite) |
Zinc selenide is an inorganic compound with formula ZnSe used extensively in optoelectronics, photonics, and infrared optics. It is a wide‑bandgap II–VI semiconductor exploited in laser optics, light‑emitting devices, and photovoltaic research. Producers, research laboratories, and standards organizations commonly handle ZnSe in crystalline and polycrystalline forms with tailored doping for specific device architectures.
ZnSe appears as colorless to pale yellow crystals typically grown by methods used in semiconductor manufacturing and materials science laboratories. Manufacturers and research centers such as Bell Labs, MIT, Stanford University, IBM, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have contributed to advances in growth and device integration. Industrial users include companies like Coherent, Inc., Thorlabs, II‑VI Incorporated, and Honeywell that supply optical components for laser systems used by institutions such as NASA, CERN, European Space Agency, and National Institutes of Health.
ZnSe crystallizes in the cubic zincblende structure at ambient conditions and can adopt the hexagonal wurtzite polymorph under certain growth regimes; these polymorphs are of interest to crystallographers at facilities like Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Its bandgap (~2.7 eV at room temperature) places it between materials studied in the context of Silicon and GaN technology, relevant to device groups at Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics. Optical phonon modes observed by researchers at institutions such as University of Cambridge and Max Planck Society are characterized alongside electronic properties measured in laboratories associated with Caltech and ETH Zurich.
Common preparation methods include high‑temperature vapor phase growth, molecular beam epitaxy used by research teams at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and University of Oxford, and chemical vapor deposition techniques employed by groups at Imperial College London and EPFL. Bulk single crystals are grown by the Bridgman–Stockbarger technique familiar to scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and by the high‑pressure, high‑temperature methods used historically by metallurgists at Carnegie Institution for Science. Powder synthesis routes draw on precursor work from researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University.
ZnSe is widely used for infrared windows and lenses in CO2 laser systems central to laboratories at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and for surgical devices produced by companies collaborating with Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Its transparency across a broad spectral range makes it a choice material at optics suppliers such as Edmund Optics and Newport Corporation. In optoelectronics, ZnSe has been explored for blue/green light‑emitting diodes in projects at NIST and for heterostructures combined with ZnS, CdSe, and GaAs in studies by groups at University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign and University of Tokyo.
ZnSe is chemically stable under ambient conditions but reacts with strong acids and oxidizing agents; regulatory frameworks from agencies including Occupational Safety and Health Administration, European Chemicals Agency, and Health Canada guide workplace handling. Toxicology investigations by teams at UCLA, Harvard Medical School, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examine selenium compounds' biological effects. Safety data sheets used by laboratories at Princeton University and industrial hygiene groups at DuPont emphasize controls, personal protective equipment, and waste management consistent with standards from ISO and ASTM International.
Integration of ZnSe into devices uses thin‑film deposition, epitaxial lift‑off, and wafer bonding techniques developed in collaboration between industry and academia, such as partnerships among Bell Labs, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Device packaging for spaceflight and defense applications adheres to testing regimes used by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Hybrid photonic integration with materials like SiO2, SiC, and Al2O3 is explored in consortia including SEMATECH and research centers at University of California, Berkeley.
Early characterization of II–VI semiconductors including ZnSe traces to 20th‑century solid‑state physics laboratories such as Bell Labs and universities like University of Chicago and University of Cambridge. Subsequent advances in molecular beam epitaxy, pioneered at Cornell University and Stanford University, enabled high‑quality ZnSe heterostructures. Contemporary research directions pursued at institutions such as MIT, Oxford, Max Planck Gesellschaft, and KAUST investigate quantum dot integration, nonlinear optics, and mid‑infrared photonics, often in collaboration with industrial partners like II‑VI Incorporated and ZEISS.
Category:Inorganic compounds Category:Semiconductor materials