Electrochemical deposition of compound semiconductor thin films

CdTe and CdSexTe1-x thin films were electrodeposited on etched nickel substrates. The photoelectrochemical efficiency of CdTe films was used to optimize the deposition and heat treatment conditions. Photoelectrochemical solar cells of n-CdTe/l M Na2S, 1 M S, 1 M NaOH/C gave V-OC = 0.56 V, I-SC = 11.6 mA/cm(2) FF = 0.41 and eta = 5.3% upon 50 W/cm(2) irradiation. Conditions for successive electrochemical deposition of elemental copper, indium and selenium layers onto ITO and SnO2 covered glass substrates have been optimized. Rapid thermal annealing and two-zone tube furnace annealing in selenium vapor -inert gas ambient were performed for production of CuInSe2. SEM, XRD, EDS and PL measurements have been used for characterisation of heat-treated films.