Identification of phases in thin amorphous films of zinc phosphides

Analysis of the experimental atomic radial distribution functions for thin amorphous films of zinc phosphides obtained by explosive laser sputtering has been performed within a fragmentary model. The experiment was carried out with an EMP-100A electron diffractometer in transmitted light at accelerating voltages of 50 and 75 kV. The films obtained by sputtering of β-ZnP2 single crystals contained nanoparticles of this phase. The films based on Zn3P2 turned out to be two-phase and consisted of dispersed Zn3P2 and β-ZnP2 nanoparticles. The composition of the film obtained on the basis of α-ZnP2 corresponded neither to any one of the known phases in the Zn-P system nor to any mixture of these phases. Crystallization of films in a divergent electron beam confirmed the results of the phase analysis performed using the model atomic radial distribution functions.