Baking impact of Fe composition on CdSe films for solar cell application

Abstract

Cd1-XFeXSe thin films were electrodeposited onto fluorine doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (PTO) and stainless steel (SS) substrates at various bath compositions with X=0.1 to 0.5 in an aqueous electrolytic bath containing CdSO4, FeSO4 and SeO2. The effects of different compositions on physicochemical properties of Cd1-XFeXSe thin films have been systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals the polycrystalline in nature of Cd1-XFeXS thin films. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) micrographs shows the variation in the nanostructure with varying compositions. The Cd1-XFeXSe thin films exhibited the water contact angles in hydrophilic range. Optical absorption measurements are used to estimate the band gap value of Cd1-XFeXSe thin films deposited at various bath compositions. The dramatic changes in surface morphology, as a consequence of different composition of Fe in CdSe matrix, significantly alter the conversion efficiency of Cd1-XFeXSe films. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.