Study of the Properties of CdS:Al (R = [Al3+]/[Cd2+] = 0.30, 0.40, 0.50) Thin Films Grown by the CBD Method in an Ammonia-Free System

Raju Prasanna-Kumari; Daniela Herrera-Molina; Arturo Fernández-Pérez; Jesús E Diosa; Edgar Mosquera-Vargas

doi:10.3390/molecules28083626

Study of the Properties of CdS:Al (R = [Al³⁺]/[Cd²⁺] = 0.30, 0.40, 0.50) Thin Films Grown by the CBD Method in an Ammonia-Free System

Molecules. 2023 Apr 21;28(8):3626. doi: 10.3390/molecules28083626.

Authors

Raju Prasanna-Kumari¹, Daniela Herrera-Molina¹, Arturo Fernández-Pérez², Jesús E Diosa^{1

3}, Edgar Mosquera-Vargas^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Grupo de Transiciones de Fase y Materiales Funcionales, Departamento de Física, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali 760032, Colombia.
² Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Bio-Bio, Collao 1202, Concepción 4030000, Chile.
³ Centro de Excelencia en Nuevos Materiales (CENM), Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali 760032, Colombia.

Abstract

CdS:Al thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate using the CBD method. The effect of aluminum incorporation on the structural, morphological, vibrational, and optical properties of CdS thin layers was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (RS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-visible (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. XRD analysis of deposited thin films confirmed a hexagonal structure with a preferred (002) orientation in all samples. The crystallite size and surface morphology of the films are modified with aluminum content. Raman spectra exhibit fundamental longitudinal optical (LO) vibrational modes and their overtones. Optical properties were studied for each thin film. Here, it was observed that the optical properties of thin films are affected by the incorporation of aluminum into the CdS structure.

Keywords: CBD method; optical properties; structural properties; thin film.

Grants and funding

This research has been supported by Universidad del Valle—Colombia (“Apoyo al Fortalecimiento de los Centros e Institutos—VRI”) and Universidad del Bio-Bio—Chile (DICREA 2220223 IF/R).