Influence of zinc on optical, electrical and structural properties of (ZnxCd1-x)S films

ZnxCd1-xS thin films have been prepared in the entire composition range from CdS to ZnS on glass substrate using the solution growth technique. To deposit good quality films, optimum conditions have been determined. Wide band gap ternary films have many applications in heterojunction solar cells. The optical, electrical resistivity and structure of these films have been studied by optical transmission, conductivity technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). It was noticed that the microstructure and lattice parameter and the values of the absorption edge shifted towards the shorter wavelength region and hence the direct band gap energy varied from 2.47 ev for CdS to 3.5 ev for ZnS films. Electrical conductivity studies revealed that the resistivity increased with the increase of Zn content.