Tunability of physical properties of (Cd:Zn)S thin film by Close Space Sublimation Process (CSSP)

Abstract The present paper reports on a systematic study of the influence of Zn alloying on the structural and optical properties of Cd 1− x Zn x S thin films. X-ray diffraction study for structural analysis reveals that the two binary compounds have been completely transformed into ternary compound with hexagonal (wurtzite) structure with preferred orientation along c -direction with (002) planes. The optical properties such as optical constants and band gap energy of the films were examined by using spectroscopic ellipsometer and Photospectrometery. It was found that the optical constants ( n and k ) decrease with the addition of Zn content in the alloy. It was also confirmed that the band gap increases with increasing Zn amount in the alloy and is attributed to quantum size effect in the grain size. Raman spectroscopy analysis shows one dominant phonon band at 326 cm −1 , the so-called longitudinal optical (LO) mode for all the alloy composition ( x ). The appearance of a single phonon band in the Raman spectra established the formation of single phase hexagonal structured Cd 1− x Zn x S thin film. The LO band is asymmetrically broaden and high frequency shifted due to potential fluctuation caused by the dopant material. The AFM results showed that the surface roughness was decreased with increasing Zn content.