Physical properties of spray deposited CdTe thin films: PEC performance

p-CdTe thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis under different ambient conditions and character- ized using photoelectrochemical (PEC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX), and optical transmission studies. The different preparative parameters viz solution pH, solution quantity, substrate temperature and solution concentration have been optimized by the PEC technique in order to get good-quality photosensitive material. XRD analysis shows the polycrystalline nature of the film, hav- ing cubic structure with strong (111) orientation. Micrographs reveal that grains are uniformly distributed over the surface of the substrate indicating the well-defined growth of polycrystalline CdTe thin film. The EDAX study for the sample deposited at optimized preparative parameters shows the nearly stoichiometric Cd : Te ratio. Optical absorption shows the presence of direct transition with band gap energy of 1.5 eV. Deposited films exhibit the highest photocurrent of 2.3 mA, a photovoltage of 462 mV, a 0.48 fill factor and 3.4% efficiency for the optimized preparative parameters.