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Zinc Selenide ZnSe
ZnSe is used widely for IR components, windows and lenses, and for spectroscopic ATR prisms. Zinc Selenide is one of the materials of choice for CO2 laser optics operating at 10.6 microns.
Zinc Selenide is produced by synthesis from Zinc vapour and H2Se gas, forming as sheets on Graphite susceptors. Zinc Selenide is microcrystalline in structure, the grain size being controlled to produce maximum strength. Single crystal ZnSe is available, and has been reported as having lower absorption and thus more effective for CO2 optics, although we have no source and cannot currently offer single crystal ZnSe.
Zinc Selenide oxidizes significantly at 300°C, exhibits plastic deformation at about 500°C and dissociates about 700°C. For safety, Zinc Selenide windows should not be used above 250°C in normal atmosphere
Products
Windows
Lenses
Prisms & ATR
| Transmission Range | 0.6 to 21 μm |
|---|---|
| Refractive Index | 2.4028 at 10.6 μm |
| Reflection Loss | 29.1% at 10.6 μm (2 surfaces) |
| Absorption Coefficient | 0.0005 cm-1 @ 10.6 μm (2) 0.0004 cm-1 @ 5.25 μm (2) 0.0004 cm-1 @ 3.8 μm (2) 0.0007 cm-1 @ 2.7 μm (2) 0.005 cm-1 @ 1.3 μm (2) |
| Reststrahlen Peak | 45.7 μm |
| dn/dT | +61 x 10-6/°C at 10.6 μm at 298K |
| dn/dμ | 0 |
| Density | 5.27 g/cc |
| Melting Point | 1525°C (See notes below) |
| Thermal Conductivity | 18 W m-1 K-1 @ 298 K |
| Thermal Expansion | 7.1 x 10-6/°C @ 273 K |
| Hardness | Knoop 120 with 500g indenter |
| Specific Heat Capacity | 339 J Kg-1 K-1 |
| Dielectric Constant | n/a |
| Youngs Modulus (E) | 67.2 GPa |
| Shear Modulus (G) | n/a |
| Bulk Modulus (K) | 40 GPa |
| Elastic Coefficients | n/a |
| Apparent Elastic Limit | 55.1 MPa (8000psi) |
| Poisson Ratio | 0.28 |
| Solubility | 0.001 g/100g water |
| Molecular Weight | 144.33 |
| Class/Structure | FCC Cubic, F43m (#216), Zinc Blende structure. (Polycrystalline) |
Zinc Selenide oxidizes significantly at 300°C, exhibits plastic deformation at about 500°C and dissociates about 700°C. For safety, Zinc Selenide windows should not be used above 250°C in normal atmosphere
| μm | No | μm | No | μm | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.54 | 2.6754 | 4.20 | 2.4324 | 12.2 | 2.3915 |
| 0.58 | 2.632 | 4.60 | 2.4309 | 12.6 | 2.3883 |
| 0.62 | 2.5994 | 5.00 | 2.4295 | 13.0 | 2.3850 |
| 0.66 | 2.5755 | 5.40 | 2.4281 | 13.4 | 2.3816 |
| 0.70 | 2.5568 | 5.80 | 2.4265 | 13.8 | 2.3781 |
| 0.74 | 2.5418 | 6.20 | 2.4251 | 14.2 | 2.3744 |
| 0.78 | 2.5295 | 6.60 | 2.4235 | 14.6 | 2.3705 |
| 0.82 | 2.5193 | 7.00 | 2.4218 | 15.0 | 2.3665 |
| 0.86 | 2.5107 | 7.40 | 2.4201 | 15.4 | 2.3623 |
| 0.90 | 2.5034 | 7.80 | 2.4183 | 15.8 | 2.3579 |
| 0.94 | 2.4971 | 8.20 | 2.4163 | 16.2 | 2.3535 |
| 0.98 | 2.4916 | 8.60 | 2.4143 | 16.6 | 2.3487 |
| 1.00 | 2.4892 | 9.00 | 2.4122 | 17.0 | 2.3438 |
| 1.40 | 2.4609 | 9.40 | 2.4100 | 17.4 | 2.3387 |
| 1.80 | 2.4496 | 9.80 | 2.4077 | 17.8 | 2.3333 |
| 2.20 | 2.4437 | 10.2 | 2.4053 | 18.2 | 2.3278 |
| 2.60 | 2.4401 | 10.6 | 2.4028 | ||
| 3.00 | 2.4376 | 11.0 | 2.4001 | ||
| 3.40 | 2.4356 | 11.4 | 2.3974 | ||
| 3.80 | 2.4339 | 11.8 | 2.3945 |
REFERENCES
(1) Manufacturing Methods Program ZnSe Blanks. US Army R&D Feb 1980
(2) Manufacturers Published Data