CdS thin-films deposited by a modified chemical-bath deposition method

Cadmium sulphide polycrystalline thin films were prepared by chemical-bath deposition (CBD) method onto glass substrates at 80 degrees C. The modification to the traditional technique consists in applying a pulsed electric (E) external fields during the growth process. E was applied in two different orientations with respect to substrate plane surface (SPS): (a) parallel and (b) perpendicular. The as-deposited samples are hard and look yellowish with a shine and smooth surface. In both cases, X-ray diffractograms show slight differences in the crystalline structure, but optical reflection measurements reveal strong anisotropic characteristics, specially in case (b). Atomic force microscopy pictures evidence a large amount of valleys among crystalline grains. This is a resultant effect of the field action. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.