Purohit 2021

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 10

Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) (2021) 34:1307–1316

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40195-021-01266-6

Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties


of Evaporated CdS Thin Films Correlated with Elemental Composition
Anuradha Purohit1 · Himanshu1 · S. L. Patel1 · S. Chander2,3 · M. S. Dhaka1

Received: 24 December 2020 / Revised: 29 April 2021 / Accepted: 10 May 2021 / Published online: 29 June 2021
© The Chinese Society for Metals (CSM) and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
A typical high-efficiency solar cell device needs the best lattice matching between different constituent layers to mitigate
the open-circuit voltage loss. In the present work, the physical properties of CdS thin films are investigated where films
with 100 nm thickness were fabricated on the different types of substrates viz. soda–lime glass, indium-doped tin oxide
(ITO)- and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrates, and silicon wafer using electron beam evaporation. The
X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that deposited thin films showed cubic phase and had (111) as predominant orienta-
tion where the structural parameters were observed to be varied with nature of substrates. The ohmic behaviour of the CdS
films was disclosed by current–voltage characteristics, whereas the scanning electron microscopy micrograph revealed the
uniform deposition of the CdS films with the presence of round-shaped grains. The elemental analysis confirmed the CdS
films deposition where the Cd/S weight percentage ratio was changed with nature of substrates. The direct energy band gap
was observed in the 1.63–2.50 eV range for the films grown on different substrates. The investigated properties of thin CdS
layers demonstrated that the selection of substrate (in terms of nature) during device fabrication plays a crucial role.

Keywords CdS thin films · Substrate evolution · E-beam evaporation · Microstructural properties · Optoelectrical
properties

1 Introduction of an asymmetric junction with a corresponding absorber


layer in order to derive the generated charge carriers towards
The increasing demand of energy in the era of cutting-edge the electrodes concerned [2]. For the CIGS and CdTe tech-
technology and limited stock of fossil fuels have drawn kind nologies, the CdS is a well-studied optical window material
attention for developing cost-effective and high-efficiency as it is having the best lattice matching with these absorber
solar cell devices [1]. The silicon solar cell technology has materials. Recently, the perovskite solar cell technology has
been the champion ever since its invention while the thin come into existence and received extensive attention owing
film-based cost-effective technologies viz. CdTe, CIGS, to low cost, high efficiency, and ease of fabrication proce-
organic, and perovskites have also come into existence with dure [3]. The high power conversion efficiency of the per-
time which have their own merits and demerits. A solar cell ovskite solar cells is achieved by using a mesoporous ­TiO2
device needs an optical window for ensuring the formation electron transport layer (ETL) since the transport layers (viz.
electron and hole transport layers) play an important role in
the device performance. In such high-efficiency devices, the
Available online at http://​link.​sprin​ger.​com/​journ​al/​40195. high-temperature annealing (> 450 °C) condition is required
* M. S. Dhaka ­ iO2 films. However, it has been reported
to crystallize the T
[email protected] that the light-induced degradation of the solar cells is due to
light-induced desorption of the oxygen and light-activated
1
Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, catalytic effect of T
­ iO2, thus, the perovskite-based devices
Udaipur 313001, India
are facing stability problem. To reduce the degradation and
2
Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science enhance the stability, new materials for ETL have been
Education and Research, Mohali 140306, India
proposed including ZnO, CdSe, CdS, S ­ nO2, graphene, etc.
3
Centre for Advanced Study in Physics, Department [4–7].
of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
1308 A. Purohit et al.

Research is being pursued on CdS thin films due to their order to develop the heterostructure solar cells [45]. Despite
wide energy band gap (2.42 eV), high light sensitivity, low of relatively higher lattice mismatch, the CdS films are
absorption coefficient, high transparency, and high electron widely grown on ITO and FTO substrates in fabrication of
affinity, which allow it in various optoelectronic applications CdTe/CdS superstrate solar cell devices as these substrates
[8–11]. It possesses n-type semiconducting nature owing efficiently work as transparent electrodes. Besides the above,
to the existence of high sulphur vacancies and interstitial the plastic foil, polymer (low-density polyethylene) [46],
cadmium atoms, while the crystalline phase may be changed polyimide (PI) [42], quartz [41], Ti foils [47], polycarbonate
from cubic to hexagonal with air annealing at 300–350 °C, (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [40], Si nanoporous
where the cubic phase of CdS is preferred for optoelec- pillar array (Si-NPA) [39], aluminium, platinum, molybde-
tronic devices, and the hexagonal phase of CdS is suitable num [48], etc. have also been used as substrates for the CdS
for solar cell applications [12–15]. The CdS thin films could thin films.
be deposited by several physical and chemical routes based With consideration that the performance of CdTe/CdS
techniques which include chemical bath deposition [15], solar cells can be improved by the use of enhanced quality
electron beam (e-beam) evaporation [16], pulsed laser depo- CdS optical window where the properties of CdS films could
sition [17], sol–gel [18], electro-deposition [19], sputtering be modified by different substrates, and consequently, the
[20–22], atomic layer deposition [23], etc. Among these, the present article is devoted to the well-ordered study on micro-
e-beam evaporation technique has key benefits compared to structural and optoelectrical properties in correlation with
the others which include high purity and homogeneity of the elemental properties of evaporated CdS thin films grown
the grown films, control over the growth rate, etc. [24–26]. on different substrates viz. glass, ITO, FTO and Si wafer fol-
The films developed by this technique usually show high lowed by undertaking microstructural and optical properties
stoichiometry, stability, and durability. The e-beam evapora- with substrate evolution to implicate as optical window or
tion technique maintains the homogeneity of films even at electron transport layer in the technologies concerned.
a lower thickness of the films. It also offers flexible doping
possibility, least contamination, and highly adhesive and
dense films [27] compared to other deposition techniques.
Since the properties of thin films are influenced by depo- 2 Experimental
sition techniques and respective parameters, nature of sub-
strates, doping, annealing temperature and atmosphere, layer The CdS powder with a purity of 5 N was procured from
thickness, etc., therefore, extensive studies have been carried Sigma-Aldrich, and thin films with 100 nm thickness were
out on the CdS thin films [28–37]. Among these, the nature deposited on soda–lime glass, and ITO- and FTO-coated
of substrate is also crucial factor as the used substrate not substrates as well as on Si wafer (having < 111 > plane and
only provides mechanical support to thin films but it also n-type electrical conductivity) using an e-beam evaporation
plays a vital role in the modification of various physical (Model-HHV box coater BC-300) process at room tem-
properties. An ideal or typical substrate should inert and perature. Prior to the deposition, all these substrates were
not react with the growing thin films. There should be the washed by deionized water, acetone, isopropyl alcohol using
least thermal and lattice mismatching between the grown an ultrasonication bath followed by desiccation. A schematic
layer and substrate concerned. block diagram of e-beam evaporation method is shown in
The thin film growth process includes nucleation, coa- Fig. 1.
lescence, channels, holes, and continuous deposition [38] The evaporating CdS material (in pellet form) is placed
where underlying substrate induces different morphologies in a graphite crucible and the substrates are kept fixed on
which is a consequence of atomic deposition on the surface the holder, which were rotated to get uniform deposition
of substrate concerned and relaxation of surface profile [39]. of the films. The vacuum chamber was evacuated up to
The major challenges in deposition of CdS thin films on 2 × ­10–6 mbar by using a combination of diffusion and rotary
different substrates include achievement of homogeneous pumps, then the CdS material was bombarded with high
and uniform deposition [40, 41], higher transmittance (in energy electron beam (having energy in range of 5–20 kV)
visible region) with large band gap, least lattice and thermal emitted from an electron gun. The heating of the acceler-
mismatch with the underneath substrates and selection of ated e-beam with evaporating CdS source material resulted
the substrates which uptake low moisture and release high into its evaporation. Consequently, the evaporants are moved
moisture [42], etc. towards substrates and condensed on these followed by films
The CdS films can be grown on different substrates viz. growth as per prevalent mechanism. An in-house quartz
soda–lime glass, ITO, FTO, silicon, etc. The silicon is may crystal monitor was used to measure the final films thick-
be used as substrates for CdS films [41, 43, 44] and the crys- ness as 100 nm whereas the growth rate was kept almost
talline silicon (c-Si) as p-type counterpart to n-type CdS in constant (5–6 Å/s).

13
Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties of Evaporated CdS Thin… 1309

where λ is incident X-ray radiation’s wavelength, and θ is


the Bragg’s diffraction angle. Also, k is known as the Scher-
rer’s constant with a value of 0.94, β is the full width at half
maxima (FWHM), and t is the CdS film’s thickness.

2.2 Optoelectrical Analysis

The optical measurements were recorded in a wavelength


range of 380–1100 nm employing Perkin Elmer LAMBDA
UV–Vis. spectrophotometer. During the measurements of
optical absorbance and transmittance spectra of the CdS films
grown on different substrates, the underneath substrate con-
cerned has been used as a reference sample in order to com-
pensate and nullify the background data or baseline correction.
Therefore, the obtained optical absorbance and transmittance
data are only due to the grown CdS thin films. The energy
band gap (Eg) was calculated using Eq. (6) [49, 51].
)n∕2
(6)
(
𝛼h𝜈 = A h𝜈 − Eg ,
Fig. 1  Schematic block diagram of the e-beam evaporation to grow
CdS films where hν is the photon energy, n is an integer having value 1
or 4 for allowing direct or indirect transitions, respectively,
2.1 Structural Analysis A is a constant which denotes the absorbance. The refractive
index (n) is calculated by the Herve–Vandamme formula as
The structural study of the deposited CdS films was carried given in Eq. (7) [52].
out employing X-ray diffraction (XRD, Model-Rigaku Ultima- ( )2
A
IV) using CuKα radiation (λ = 0.15406 nm), where these 2
n =1+ , (7)
Eg + B
measurements were recorded in the angle of diffraction (2θ)
range 20–80°. The inter-planar spacing (d) was determined by where constants A and B are having values as 13.6 eV and
Bragg’s law and lattice parameter (a) of the cubic phase CdS 3.4 eV, respectively. The Lorentz–Lorenz formula [53] was
films was determined by Eq. (1) [49]. used to calculate the relative density of CdS films as given
in Eq. (8).
(1)

a = d h2 + k 2 + l 2 ,
( )( 2 )
where h, k, l are the Miller indices of the preferred diffrac- n2f − 1 nb + 1
𝜌= , (8)
tion peak in the XRD patterns. n2f + 1 n2b − 1
The crystallite size (D) was evaluated by the Scherrer’s for-
mula (Eq. (2)) while the internal strain (ε), dislocations density where nf is the refractive index of the deposited CdS films,
(δ), and number of crystallites per unit area (N) were evaluated and nb is the refractive index of bulk CdS (having a value of
using the following Eqs. (3–5) [49–51]. 2.529). The optical response of CdS layers was studied by opti-
cal conductivity (σ0) as evaluated by Eq. (9) [9].
k𝜆
D= . (2) 𝛼nc
𝛽 cos 𝜃 𝜎0 = , (9)
4𝜋
𝛽 where c is the velocity of light. The real part (εr) and imagi-
𝜀= . (3)
4 tan 𝜃 nary part (εi) of the complex dielectric constant (ε) could be
calculated by Eqs. (10–11) [53, 54].
1
𝛿= . (4) 𝜀r = n 2 − k 2 (10)
D2

t 𝜀i = 2ink. (11)
N= , (5)
D3
In order to perform the electrical measurements, the con-
tacts on FTO and Si wafer substrates were made in sandwich

13
1310 A. Purohit et al.

structure (i.e. one contact on un-deposited substrate’s sur- 3 Results and Discussion
face and other one on film’s surface) using adhesive silver
paste (Sigma-Aldrich made). The measurements were under- 3.1 Structural Analysis
taken using an Agilent B2901A source meter comprised of
SMU software. The XRD patterns of the CdS films are depicted in Fig. 2
(a–d) wherein the sharp diffraction peak corresponding
2.3 Surface Morphology and Elemental Analysis to (111) orientation is observed at 2θ positions of 26.54°,
26.52°, 26.64°, and 26.36° for CdS thin films grown on
The surface morphological analysis of the CdS films grown soda–lime glass, ITO- and FTO-coated glass substrates,
on the glass substrate was done by scanning electron micros- and silicon wafer, respectively (JCPDS data file num-
copy (SEM, Model Raith), while elemental analysis for the ber 10–0454). The similar (111) preferred orientation is
CdS films grown on glass, ITO, and FTO substrates was car- obtained for e-beam evaporated CdS films grown on differ-
ried out by the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. ent substrates [33]. The identified cubic (111) orientation of
CdS films near 26° is in consistent with the earlier published
reports where CdS films were developed on glass and Si
wafer substrates [55, 56]. Another peak having (222) ori-
entation is found at 54.62° for the CdS thin films deposited
on FTO substrate.

Fig.2  XRD patterns of thin CdS films deposited on a soda–lime glass, b ITO-coated glass, c FTO-coated glass, d silicon wafer substrates

13
Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties of Evaporated CdS Thin… 1311

In XRD patterns, ‘*’ and ‘#’ represent the peaks cor- may be due to the inclusion of impurity atoms [59]. The
responding to used substrates. The intensity of (111)C pre- crystallite size (D) was found to be in range of 23–37 nm and
ferred orientation for the films grown on the FTO substrate observed maximum for the CdS films developed on FTO-
is higher as compared to the films grown on ITO and Si coated glass substrate due to its lower FWHM which might
wafer while the maximum intensity is observed for the CdS be owing to the higher surface smoothening as compared
thin films on the glass substrate which indicated the better to others [60], which indicated higher degree of nucleation,
crystallinity of films deposited on the glass and FTO sub- huge structural refinements, and greater crystalline quality
strates as compared to the others. The observed variation [59, 61].
in intensity of the thin CdS films might be due to different The internal strain (ε) is defined as the lattice disarrange-
adhesive nature of the CdS material on different substrates ment and found in the range (4.19–6.78) × ­10−3, while the
as well as mismatching in lattice and thermal coefficients of number of crystallites in the unit area (N) and dislocation
CdS material and underneath used substrate concerned [57]. density (δ) were observed to be changed with the nature
The development of a cubic phase with the F 4̄ 3 m space of substrates due to alteration in respective crystallite size
group is suitable for optoelectronic devices [14]. (D) and lattice constants of the material to the underlying
The structural parameters were calculated corresponding substrates too [62, 63]. The observed XRD patterns and
to the (111)C preferred orientation and are summarized in determined structural constants showed that the nature of
Table 1. The lattice constant (a) and inter-planar spacing substrates plays a crucial role in enhancing the structural
(d) are found in the range of 5.78–5.83 Å and 3.34–3.37 Å, properties of the deposited thin CdS films.
respectively, which agreed well with the standard JCPDS
data. The lattice constant of CdS films grown on glass, ITO 3.2 Optoelectrical Analysis
and FTO substrates is slightly lower than that of the stand-
ard lattice constant (5.82 Å) which might be possible due The transmittance and absorbance spectra of the developed
to the formation of sulphur vacancies in these films [58] as thin CdS films are presented in Fig. 3. The CdS thin films
observed in the elemental analysis. The CdS films grown show high absorbance in the 380–500 nm range of the vis-
on Si wafer showed slightly higher lattice constant which ible region (Fig. 3a) as compared to the upper wavelength

Table 1  Structural constants of Substrate 2θ (deg.) a (Å) d (Å) D (nm) ε × ­10–3 δ × ­1011 ­cm−2 N × ­1012 ­cm−2
CdS films grown on different
substrates Glass 26.54 5.79 3.35 25 6.43 1.60 0.64
ITO 26.52 5.79 3.35 23 6.78 1.89 0.82
FTO 26.64 5.78 3.34 37 4.19 0.73 0.19
Si wafer 26.36 5.83 3.37 30 5.35 1.11 0.37

Fig. 3  a Absorbance, b transmittance spectra of the thin CdS films grown on various kinds of substrates

13
1312 A. Purohit et al.

region owing to the existence of its conventional absorption and grain size, change in mobility and free carrier concentra-
in this range. It is found higher in lower wavelength range tion, etc. [16, 65–67]. The band gap is proportional to strain
for all the substrates and later found to be decreased in the as well as lattice constant of films whereas it has an inverse
higher wavelength region after 500 nm for all films depos- relationship with the crystallite size [68].
ited on glass, ITO and FTO substrates while the films on The CdS films grown on Si substrate show a relatively
silicon wafer showed an anomalous behaviour which might lower band gap (1.63 eV) as compared to the bulk counter-
be due to light absorption by Si substrate owing to its rela- part (2.42 eV) and the films grown on other substrates as
tively narrower/lower band gap. The absorbance is observed well which may be attributed to the less defined absorption
to be almost constant within the 600–1100 nm wavelength edge which could lead to the formation of new level in the
range for the films grown on the ITO and FTO substrates. forbidden band gap [61]. The structural defects present in
As per Fig. 3(b), the transmittance (in the wavelength range the films may also cause shrinkage in the band gap of films
of 500–1100 nm) is found more than 60% for CdS films [69] and thus, the band gap is found lower. The calcu-
on ITO- and FTO-coated glass substrates while it is lower lated refractive index was found in the range of 2.51–2.88
for films on soda–lime glass and least for CdS films grown and varied with the nature of the underlying substrates
on Si wafer. A decrement in transmittance is observed near due to alteration in corresponding optical energy band
the absorption edge for ITO and FTO substrates which con- gap might be ascribed to the variation in packing den-
firmed the good crystallinity [8]. The larger transmittance is sity of the grown films and changes in polarizability of
found for the films grown on ITO and FTO substrates which ions in the films concerned [70]. The relative density is
reveal to the lower defect density on both the substrates [40], a dimensionless quantity that relates the refractive index
while the lower transmittance for glass and Si substrates is of deposited films with the standard refractive index of
also possible due to higher packing density of these films bulk material concerned. The relative density is strongly
[64]. dependent upon the crystallite size of films. In the present
The optical energy band gap (Eg) was evaluated from the study, the relative density is found in range of 0.99–1.07
optical absorption spectra using well-known Tauc’s relation for the films grown on different substrates owing to cor-
(Eq. (6)) by extrapolating the straight line towards the energy responding changes in the crystallite size and crystallin-
axis at zero absorption coefficient as shown in Fig. 4. The ity of CdS films. Lisco et al. [71] demonstrated almost
linear nature of the Tauc’s plots confirmed direct transition similar behaviour of optical parameters for CdS films as a
and optical energy band gap is obtained as 2.25 eV, 2.33 eV, function of the deposition power. The real and imaginary
2.50 eV, and 1.63 eV for films deposited on soda–lime glass, components of the complex dielectric constant of films are
ITO-, FTO-coated substrates, and silicon wafer, respectively. related to the regional field distribution within the sam-
The variation in optical energy band gap might be owing to ples. The real (εr) and imaginary (εi) dielectric constants
the alteration in the stoichiometry of CdS films or change in of CdS films are shown in Fig. 5 which are calculated
atomic/weight percentage of Cd and S elements at different using relations concerned [70]. It is evident from Fig. 5(a)
substrates, presence of impurities, variation in crystallinity that the real part exhibited almost similar behaviour for

Fig. 4  Tauc’s plots to determine the optical energy band gap of CdS films grown on a glass (inset ITO), b FTO (inset Si wafer) substrates

13
Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties of Evaporated CdS Thin… 1313

Fig. 5  Variation in a real, b imaginary parts of dielectric constants with photon energy

the films grown on soda–lime glass, ITO and FTO sub- The variation in optical conductivity (σ0) is presented in
strates while it is increased with photon energy for the Fig. 6 (a) wherein σ0 increased with photon energy, which
films grown on Si wafer. The imaginary part (Fig. 5(b)) is may be due to electrons excitation by the incident photon
directly related to the density of state within the forbidden energy. It remained almost constant till hʋ ~ 2.00 eV and then
energy gap of the semiconductor material [72]. It is found increased because of absorption of the photon energy due to
to be decreased slightly for the films grown on ITO and excitation of the electrons [73, 74].
FTO substrates at lower energy regions and then increased, The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of CdS films
while decreased continuously for Si wafer, which might deposited on FTO and Si wafer are presented in Fig. 6 (b)
be due to the regional field distribution inside the samples which reflected the linear dependency of current on voltage
and loss factor increase with photon energy [8]. in the entire voltage range, demonstrating the ohmic nature

Fig. 6  a Alteration in optical conductivity with photon energy, b I–V characteristics for CdS films grown on FTO-coated glass substrate and sili-
con wafer

13
1314 A. Purohit et al.

of the films. Both the characteristics have almost coincided,


and the current is slightly more for CdS thin films on FTO-
coated glass substrates as compared to Si wafer, which may
be due to the corresponding maximum crystallite size and
decrease in grain boundaries [16]. The electrical resistivity is
found more for CdS films deposited on Si wafer which may
be due to the low mobility and reduction in carrier concen-
tration. As per the elemental analysis of CdS films deposited
on glass, ITO and FTO substrates, there is a sulphur vacancy
and Cd richness nature in these films, which revealed to the
n-type electrical conductivity of these semiconducting CdS
thin films. Generally, for the thin films, the current attains
zero value at zero voltage but, herein different behaviour is
obtained at zero voltage and current, which revealed to slight
capacitance behaviour of the thin films at the interface. The
formation of ultrathin insulating oxide layer at the interface
might be a possible reason for this capacitance behaviour
where the impact of oxygen could be taken place due to the
residual gases during the deposition.

3.3 Surface Morphology and Elemental Analysis

Surface morphological image of the CdS films deposited on


glass substrate is shown in Fig. 7 (a) where the surface is
found homogeneous, uniform and free from any defects. The
film surface is densely packed with the presence of small
round-shaped grains of similar size which revealed to the
uniform nucleation throughout the substrate surface.
The grain size of CdS films grown on a glass substrate is
close to 30 nm which is larger than that of the crystallite size
obtained by the XRD data. Such variation in grain size and
the crystallite size is possible since the grains are formed by
agglomeration of smaller crystallites [75].
The EDX spectra of the thin CdS films deposited on glass,
ITO and FTO are shown in Fig. 7 (b–d) which revealed Fig. 7  a SEM image of thin CdS films fabricated on the glass sub-
strate and EDX spectra of CdS films deposited on b glass, c ITO, d
to the presence of cadmium (Cd) and sulphur (S) elements FTO substrates
in developed CdS thin films and confirmed the successful
fabrication of CdS thin films on different substrates. Sev-
eral other peaks corresponding to Si, Ca, Na, Mg, K, O,
Table 2  Cd and S in CdS films grown on different substrates (wt%)
and Sn elements were also observed owing to the contribu-
tion from constituent elements of used underneath (glass, Sample No. Films Cd S
ITO and FTO) substrates. Similar elements/peaks are also 1 CdS/glass 19.89 7.72
observed by Ravichandran and Philominathan [76] for the 2 CdS/ITO 4.88 2.38
CdS thin films which were grown employing spray pyrolysis 3 CdS/FTO 5.24 2.36
method. The weight percentage of Cd:S in CdS films grown
on glass, ITO and FTO substrates is listed in Table 2 which
clearly demonstrated existence of the sulphur vacancies in
these films. Similar sulphur vacancies were also observed thin films are highly affected by the nature of underneath
in chemical bath deposited CdS films [77], where origin substrates. An anomalous behaviour is shown by the
of these sulphur vacancies is attributed to the presence of CdS thin films grown on silicon (< 111 > , n-type) wafer,
oxygen in the CdS films [58, 77]. which might be due to the band gap narrowness of the
The above discussed physical properties to the CdS silicon substrate itself which influenced all the physical
thin films grown on different substrates demonstrate that properties.

13
Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties of Evaporated CdS Thin… 1315

4 Conclusion [11] M. Shkir, I.M. Ashraf, A. Khan, M.T. Khan, A.M. El-Toni, S.
AlFaify, Sens. Actuat. A Phys. 306, 111952 (2020)
[12] S. Yilmaz, Appl. Surf. Sci. 357, 873 (2015)
The present article meticulously demonstrated an impact of [13] A.A. Ziabari, F.E. Ghodsi, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 105, 249
nature of underneath substrates on the properties of CdS (2012)
layers grown on glass, ITO, FTO, and Si wafer by electron [14] J. Lee, Thin Solid Films 451–452, 170 (2004)
[15] A. Ashok, G. Regmi, A. Romero-Núñez, M. Solis-López, S.
beam evaporation. The microstructural and optoelectrical Velumani, H. Castaneda, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 7499
properties of CdS films were assessed in order to seek their (2020)
implications in solar cells. The structural analysis indicated [16] S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, Thin Solid Films 638, 179 (2017)
the existence of cubic phase with (111) preferred orienta- [17] B. Ullrich, D.A. Flores, M. Bhowmick, Thin Solid Films 558, 24
(2014)
tion where the maximum crystallite size is found for the [18] Y.A. Douri, Q. Khasawneh, S. Kiwan, U. Hashim, S.B.A. Hamid,
CdS films grown on FTO substrates. The conductivity is A.H. Reshak, A. Bouhemadou, M. Ameri, R. Khenata, Energy
found better for the films developed on FTO-coated glass Convers. Manage. 82, 238 (2014)
substrates. The SEM analysis demonstrated uniform, defect- [19] N. Nobari, M. Behboudnia, R. Maleki, Mater. Sci. Eng. B 224,
181 (2017)
free, and homogeneous surface of the CdS films deposited [20] C.T. Tsai, D.S. Chuu, G.L. Chen, S.L. Yang, J. Appl. Phys. 79,
on the glass substrate. The EDX spectra confirmed the depo- 9105 (1996)
sition of cadmium sulphide (CdS) films with Cd richness and [21] J.W. Zhang, G. He, L. Zhou, H.S. Chen, X.S. Chen, X.F. Chen, B.
sulphur vacancies. The transmittance for the films deposited Deng, J.G. Lv, Z.Q. Sun, J. Alloys Compd. 611, 253 (2014)
[22] G. He, J. Liu, H. Chen, Y. Liu, Z. Sun, X. Chen, M. Liu, L. Zhang,
on ITO and FTO substrates is found more than 60%. The J. Mater. Chem. C 2, 5299 (2014)
experimental findings and analysed results viz. larger opti- [23] G. He, J. Gao, H. Chen, J. Cui, Z. Sun, X. Chen, A.C.S. Appl.
cal energy band gap, higher transmittance in visible region, Mater. Interfaces 6, 22013 (2014)
the suitable crystallite size, higher electrical conductivity of [24] G. Laukaitis, D. Virbukas, Solid State Ionics 247–248, 41 (2013)
[25] D. Virbukas, M. Sriubas, G. Laukaitis, Solid State Ionics 271, 98
CdS thin films grown on FTO substrates emphasize to utilize (2015)
these as an effective optical window or buffer and electron [26] A. Purohit, S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, Vacuum 153, 35 (2018)
transport layers to the solar cell technologies concerned. [27] R. Agarwal, Himanshu, S.L. Patel, M. Verma, S. Chander, C.
Ameta, M.S. Dhaka, Opt. Mater. 116, 111033 (2021)
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the CSIR-CEERI, [28] M. Shkir, M. Anis, S. Shafik, M.A. Manthrammel, M.A. Sayeed,
Pilani, for providing the facilities of EDX measurements and to the M.S. Hamdy, S. AlFaify, Phys. E 118, 113955 (2020)
Microelectronics Research Center, Iowa State University, Ames, [29] P. Kumar, N. Saxena, V. Gupta, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron.
USA, for the SEM facility. A. Purohit acknowledges the Univer- 31, 6755 (2020)
sity Grants Commission, New Delhi, for a financial assistantship [30] F. Göde, Optik 197, 163217 (2019)
(F.25-1/2013-14(BSR)/7-123/2007(BSR)). [31] R. Murugesan, S. Sivakumar, K. Karthik, P. Anandan, M. Haris,
Curr. Appl. Phys. 19, 1136 (2019)
[32] A. Kumar, V. Kumar, R. Chandra, Y.K. Gautam, Mater. Res. Exp.
6, 106448 (2019)
[33] S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 28, 6852
References (2017)
[34] A.A. Ojo, I.M. Dharmadasa, Sol. Energy 136, 10 (2016)
[35] R. Zia, M. Riaz, Q. Ain, S. Anjum, Optik 127, 5407 (2016)
[1] C.R. Dong, Y. Wang, K. Zhang, H. Zeng, EnergyChem 2, 100026
[36] A. Slonopas, H. Ryan, B. Foley, Z. Sun, K. Sun, T. Globus, P.
(2020)
Norris, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 52, 24 (2016)
[2] J. Nelson, The Physics of Solar Cells (Imperial College Press,
[37] H.Y. Cheng, J.S. Ma, C.H. Lu, J. Alloys Compd. 543, 84 (2012)
London, 2002)
[38] R. Agarwal, Himanshu, S.L. Patel, S. Chander, C. Ameta, M.S.
[3] Z. Yu, A. Hagfeldt, L. Sun, Coord. Chem. Rev. 406, 213143
Dhaka, Vacuum 177, 109347 (2020)
(2020)
[39] A.I. Oliva, R. Castro-Rodrıguez, O. Ceh, P. Bartolo Perez, F.
[4] M.A.K. Sheikh, R. Abdur, S. Singh, J.H. Kim, K.S. Min, J. Kim,
Caballero-Briones, V. Sosa, Appl. Surf. Sci. 148, 42 (1999)
J. Lee, Electronic. Mater. Lett. 14, 700 (2018)
[40] J.H. Lee, Thin Solid Films 515, 6089 (2007)
[5] W.S. Yang, B.Park, E.H. Jung, N.J. Jeon, Y.C. Kim, D.U. Lee, S.S.
[41] X.L. Tong, D.S. Jiang, W.B. Hu, Z.M. Liu, M.Z. Luo, Appl. Phys.
Shin, J. Seo, E.K. Kim, J.H.Noh, S.I. Seok, Science 356, 1376
A 84, 143 (2006)
(2017)
[42] M.G. Faraj, M.Z. Pakhuruddin, P. Taboada, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater.
[6] M.A. Green, E.D. Dunlop, J.H. Ebinger, M. Yoshita, N. Kopida-
Electron. 28, 6628 (2017)
kis, Y. Hishikawa, A.W.Y. Ho-Baillie, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.
[43] Y.A. Douri, M. Ameri, A. Bouhemadou, R. Khenata, Microsyst.
28, 3 (2020)
Technol. 22, 2529 (2016)
[7] Y. Guo, J. Jiang, S. Zuo, F. Shi, J. Tao, Z. Hu, X. Hu, G. Hu, P.
[44] Z.R. Khan, M. Zulfequar, M.S. Khan, Mater. Sci. Eng. B 174, 145
Yang, J. Chu, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 178, 186 (2018)
(2010)
[8] M. Shaban, M. Mustafa, A.M.E. Sayed, Mater. Sci. Semicond.
[45] V. Bilgin, E. Sarica, B. Demirselcuk, K. Ertürk, Phys. B 599,
Process. 56, 329 (2016)
412499 (2020)
[9] A.A. Galil, M.R. Balboul, A. Atta, I.S. Yahia, A. Sharaf, Phys. B
[46] M. Ouafi, B. Jaber, L. Laanab, Superlattice Microst. 129, 212
447, 35 (2014)
(2019)
[10] A.E. Alam, W.M. Cranton, I.M. Dharmadasa, J. Mater. Sci.:
[47] M. Cao, L. Li, B.L. Zhang, J. Huang, K. Tang, H. Cao, Y. Sun, Y.
Mater. Electron. 30, 4580 (2019)
Shen, J. Alloys Compd. 530, 81 (2012)

13
1316 A. Purohit et al.

[48] E. Fatas, R. Duo, P. Herrasti, F. Arjona, E. Gorcia-Camarero, J. [62] F. Mikailzade, H. Turkan, F. Onal, O. Karatas, S. Kazan, M.
Electrochem. Soc. 131, 2243 (1984) Zarbali, A. Goktas, A. Tumbul, Appl. Phys. A 126, 768 (2020)
[49] A. Purohit, S. Chander, S.P. Nehra, C. Lal, M.S. Dhaka, Opt. [63] M. Ahmed, A. Bakry, A. Qasem, H. Dalir, Opt. Mater. 113,
Mater. 47, 345 (2015) 110866 (2021)
[50] A. Purohit, S. Chander, S.P. Nehra, M.S. Dhaka, Phys. E 69, 342 [64] S. Hemathangam, G. Thanapathy, S. Muthukumaran, J. Mater.
(2015) Sci.: Mater. Electron. 27, 6800 (2016)
[51] A. Purohit, S. Chander, A. Sharma, S.P. Nehra, M.S. Dhaka, Opt. [65] Y.S. Lo, R.K. Choubey, W.C. Yu, W.T. Hsu, C.W. Lan, Thin Solid
Mater. 49, 51 (2015) Films 520, 217 (2011)
[52] S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 27, 11961 [66] S.L. Patel, S. Chander, A. Purohit, M.D. Kannan, M.S. Dhaka, J.
(2016) Phys. Chem. Solids 123, 216 (2018)
[53] F. Wooten, Optical Properties of Solids (Academic Press, New [67] R.S. Mane, S.J. Roh, O.S. Joo, C.D. Lokhande, S.H. Han, Elec-
York, 1972) trochim. Acta 50, 2453 (2005)
[54] B. Mahrov, G. Boschloo, A. Hagfeldt, L. Dloczik, T.Dittrich, [68] A. Goktas, Phys. E 117, 113828 (2020)
Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 5455 (2004) [69] S. Yılmaz, I. Polat, M. Tomakin, E. Bacaksiz, Appl. Phys. A 125,
[55] H. Moualkia, S. Hariech, M.S. Aida, Thin Solid Films 518, 1259 67 (2019)
(2009) [70] A. Goktas, I.H. Mutlu, J. Electron. Mater. 45, 5709 (2016)
[56] N.S. Das, P.K. Ghosh, M.K. Mitra, K.K. Chattopadhyay, Phys. E. [71] F. Lisco, P.M. Kaminski, A. Abbas, J.W. Bowers, G. Claudio, M.
42, 2097 (2010) Losurdo, J.M. Walls, Thin Solid Films 574, 43 (2015)
[57] D. Agrawal, D. Suthar, R. Agarwal, Himanshu, S.L. Patel, M.S. [72] S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, Mater. Chem. Phys. 185, 202 (2017)
Dhaka. Phys. Lett. A 384, 126557 (2020) [73] F. Yakuphanoglu, A. Cukurovali, I. Yilmaz, Opt. Mater. 27, 1363
[58] K. Ravichandran, P. Philominathan, Appl. Surf. Sci. 255, 5736 (2005)
(2009) [74] A.N. Bakr, A.M. Funde, V.S. Waman, M.M. Kamble, R.R. Hawal-
[59] A. Goktas, A. Tumbul, Z. Aba, A. Kilic, F. Aslan, Opt. Mater. 107, dar, D.P. Amalnerkar, S.R. Gosavi, S.R. Jadkar, Pramana-J. Phys.
110073 (2020) 76, 519 (2011).
[60] S. Chander, A. Purohit, S.L. Patel, M.S. Dhaka, Phys. E 89, 29 [75] A. Goktas, Appl. Surf. Sci. 340, 151 (2015)
(2017) [76] K. Ravichandran, P. Philominathan, Sol. Energy 82, 1062 (2008)
[61] J. Ke, S. Chen, L. Song, P. Zhang, X. Cao, B. Wang, R. Zhang, [77] Q.Q. Liu, J.H. Shi, Z.Q. Li, D.W. Zhang, X.D. Li, Z. Sun, L.Y.
Superlatt. Microst. 146, 106671 (2020) Zhang, S.M. Huang, Phys. B 405, 4360 (2010)

13

You might also like