Unveiling concentration effects on the structural and optoelectronic characteristics of Zn1−xCdxS (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) cubic semiconductors: a theoretical study

The structural and optoelectronic characteristics of Zn_1−xCd_xS (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) semiconductors are reported using density functional theory within GGA, EV-GGA, and mBJ functionals. These semiconductors are observed in cubic symmetry at all Cd-concentrations and the lattice constant increases linearly with Cd-concentration while the bulk modulus shows a reverse behavior. These materials are direct bandgap semiconductors at all Cd-concentrations and their bandgap energy decreases from 3.67 eV to 2.59 eV. The isotropic optical properties of these direct bandgap semiconductors vary with Cd concentration as well, with absorption coefficients decreasing and absorbed near-UV light converting to visible blue light. Optical properties like refractive index, dielectric constant, conductivity, extinction coefficient, and reflectance are also displayed and discussed. These results provide useful theoretical understanding for the application of CdZnS semiconductors in photonic, photovoltaic, and optoelectronic devices.

This study explores the concentration dependent optoelectronic properties of Zn_1−xCd_xS (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) cubic direct bandgap semiconductors using DFT within mBJ potential.