Electrochemical deposition and studies on CdCr2S4 thin films

Cadmium chromium sulphide (CdCr2S4) thin films have prepared on indium doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (ITO) substrates from an aqueous electrolytic bath consists of CdSO4, Cr2O3 and Na2S2O3 using potentiostatic electrodeposition technique. The deposited films are characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis by X-rays and optical absorption techniques, respectively. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that the deposited films possess polycrystalline nature with cubic structure. Surface morphology and film composition shows that the films with smooth surface and better stoichiometry are obtained under optimized deposition condition. The optical parameters such as band gap, refractive index and extinction coefficient are calculated from optical absorption measurements. The experimental observations are discussed in detail. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.