Structural and optical properties of (ZnO)(x)(CdO)(1-x) thin films obtained by spray pyrolysis

Thin films of (ZnO)(x)(CdO)(1-x) oxides were deposited on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis and annealed in air at 450 degreesC. The structural and optical properties of the as-grown and thermally annealed thin films are pr esented. The crystalline structure was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) h aving found the presence of the CdO cubic phase pattern for low Zn concentr ations and a mixing of cubic-CdO and hexagonal-ZnO phases for low Cd concen trations. The crystallinity of all samples improves with the thermal anneal ing. The optical band-gap was also studied from the optical transmittance f or the as-grown and annealed samples. As expected, the band-gap changes bet ween that for pure CdO and that for ZnO. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.