Screen printed CdSxTe1-x films, structural and optical characterization

We present a study of the electronic and structural properties of screen pr inted CdSxTe1-x films. Nominal CdSxTe1-x alloys were prepared in the whole compositional range by mixing CdS and CdTe powders plus CdCl2 as a Aux. The mixtures were screen printed and then sintered at 515 degreesC under a nit rogen Bur. The employed characterization techniques were X-ray diffraction (XRD). optical transmission (OT) and photoluminescence (PL). From PL measur ements, we concluded that single phase samples were obtained in the ranges 0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.12 and 0.97 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 1 for the temperature employed. We present the behavior of lattice parameters and energy band gap, as a function of s ulphur content, obtained from the analysis of XRD patterns and OT spectra. In a consistent way, all the results indicate the presence of just two phas es within the miscibility gap, one CdTe-like and the other CdS-like. This c ould be employed to solve the interdiffusion problem in CdS/CdTe solar cell s. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.