The influence of post-deposition treatment on the physical properties of CdTe films deposited by stacked elemental layer processing

Cadmium telluride thin films have been deposited on glass and glass/SnO2/Cd S substrates using the stacked elemental layer (SEL) technique. After the f ilms were deposited, they were subjected to the conventional heat treatment in the presence of a CdCl2/methanol solution. The samples were analyzed, b efore and after treatment, by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, c athodoluminescence and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The results su ggest that the treatment promotes grain growth, decreases defect concentrat ion, and gives rise to the formation of a CdTe1-xSx solid solution, which r eplaces the CdTe original layer. The existence of this solid solution was e videnced by a reduction in the lattice parameter relative to untreated samp les and confirmed by EDS analysis of treated and untreated glass/SnO2/CdS/C dTe structures. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.