Chemical bath deposition of CdS thin films doped with Zn and Cu

Zn- and Cu-doped CdS thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by the chemical bath technique. ZnCl₂ and CuCl₂ were incorporated as dopant agents into the conventional CdS chemical bath in order to promote the CdS doping process. The effect of the deposition time and the doping concentration on the physical properties of CdS films were investigated. The morphology, thickness, bandgap energy, crystalline structure and elemental composition of Zn- and Cu-doped CdS films were investigated and compared to the undoped CdS films properties. Both Zn- and Cu-doped CdS films presented a cubic crystalline structure with (1 1 1) as the preferential orientation. Lower values of the bandgap energy were observed for the doped CdS films as compared to those of the undoped CdS films. Zn-doped CdS films presented higher thickness and roughness values than those of Cu-doped CdS films. From the photoluminescence results, it is suggested that the inclusion of Zn and Cu into CdS crystalline structure promotes the formation of acceptor levels above the CdS valence band, resulting in lower bandgap energy values for the doped CdS films.