Nanocrystalline ZnS:Mn thin films were fabricated by a chemical bath deposition route on glass, silicon, and quartz substrates using a weak acidic bath, in which citrate ions acts as a nontoxic complexing agent for zinc ions and thioacetamide acts as a source of sulfide ions at 60 C. The composition of films were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering, and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction pattern and transmission electron microscopy image confirm that the films have nanocrystalline nature. The band gap energy of ZnS:Mn films is blue-shifted by about 0.3 eV with respect to the bulk value (3.67 eV), probably due to the quantum size effect as expected from the nanocrystalline nature of the ZnS:Mn thin films. The dispersion and optical constants of the films were determined. These parameters changed with the deposition time.
