Thin-film ZnTe was deposited on n-type Si with low-temperature pulsed-laser deposition using nanosecond pulses of a Nd:YAG laser at either 1064, 532, or 355 nm. All produced samples exhibited clearly established rectification, providing confirmation of the intrinsic p-type character of the deposited ZnTe films. Furthermore, the samples possessed intrinsic photosensitivity as expected from photodiodes. The investigations revealed that the ZnTe films are of amorphous texture with an optical bandgap close to the fundamental transition in silicon. In addition, our discussion stresses the sensitivity of lock-in technique to the origin of the photocurrent contribution in heterostructures. Notably, from the viewpoint of materials merger, the work reveals that laser deposition of ZnTe or p-type GaAs on n-type Si might result in photodiodes with identical intrinsic pbotocurrent spectra. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.