The extraction-pyrolytic method has been applied to produce the ZnO and CdO-ZnO thin films on glass and quartz glass substrates. According to X-ray diffraction measurements, the ZnO and CdO phases have been produced with an average size of crystallites about 8-42 nm in the films. The thickness of the layers measured by a profilometer has been up to 150 nm. The surface morphology measurements show that the surface of the films may be rough and non-continuous. The SEM results confirm the dependence between the preparation procedure and the quality of the thin film.

Characteristics of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the Mn2+ ion in the oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing SrF2 crystalline counterpart has been investigated. Explicit superhyperfine structure (SHF) has been observed in the X-Band EPR spectra taken at 77 K after thermal treatment of the glass precursor. Such SHF structure is characteristic to Mn2+ ion in the fluorine coordinated nearest environment which is characteristic to cubic structure of the alkaline earth fluorides. Manganese replaces strontium in the SrF2 lattice where it has pronounced SHF interaction with surrounding fluorine nuclei. Thus Mn2+ ion provides information about crystalline structure of the particular oxyfluoride glass ceramics.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has been used to investigate structure of the oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing BaF2 fluoride component. Mn2+ ion has been used as a paramagnetic probe. After successful material synthesis and thermal treatment at temperatures above first crystallization temperature transparent glass ceramics samples were obtained. For these samples superhyperfine (SHF) structure in the X-band EPR spectra taken at 77 K has been observed. Such SHF structure is characteristic to fluorine hyperfine interaction observed in the fluoride crystals. Obtained data allow analyzing the structure of the BaF2 crystallites and possible location of the Mn2+ ion in the BaF2 crystalline lattice.

We investigated the EPR superhyperfine structure of the Mn2+ ion in the disordered BaF2 crystalline media which tends to crystallize in the oxyfluoride glass-ceramics material. Obtained EPR spectra reveal explicit shf structure due to Mn2+ ion building into the BaF2 lattice showing its usefulness as a probe in orientationally disordered and amorphous structures. Two types with explicit shf structure of Mn2+ ion characteristic EPR spectra were obtained in BaF2 powder samples characteristic with broad (type 1) and narrow (type 2) hyperfine structure lines. Spectra of the ZnF2-BaF2 oxyfluoride glass-ceramics samples revealed explicit fine structure lines.