Electro-Plating and Characterisation of CdTe Thin Films Using CdCl 2 as the Cadmium Source

Nor A. Abdul-Manaf, Hussein I. Salim, Mohammad L. Madugu, Olajide I. Olusola and Imyhamy M. Dharmadasa
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Nor A. Abdul-Manaf: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Hussein I. Salim: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Mohammad L. Madugu: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Olajide I. Olusola: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Imyhamy M. Dharmadasa: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films have been successfully prepared from an aqueous electrolyte bath containing cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 )·H 2 O and tellurium dioxide (TeO 2 ) using an electrodeposition technique. The structural, electrical, morphological and optical properties of these thin films have been characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, optical profilometry, DC current-voltage (I-V) measurements, photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. It is observed that the best cathodic potential is 698 mV with respect to standard calomel electrode (SCE) in a three electrode system. Structural analysis using XRD shows polycrystalline crystal structure in the as-deposited CdTe thin films and the peaks intensity increase after CdCl 2 treatment. PEC cell measurements show the possibility of growing p-, i- and n-type CdTe layers by varying the growth potential during electrodeposition. The electrical resistivity of the as-deposited layers are in the order of 10 4 ?·cm. SEM and AFM show that the CdCl 2 treated samples are more roughness and have larger grain size when compared to CdTe grown by CdSO 4 precursor. Results obtained from the optical absorption reveal that the bandgap of as-deposited CdTe (1.48–1.52) eV reduce to (1.45–1.49) eV after CdCl 2 treatment. Full characterisation of this material is providing new information on crucial CdCl 2 treatment of CdTe thin films due to its built-in CdCl 2 treatment during the material growth. The work is progressing to fabricate solar cells with this material and compare with CdTe thin films grown by conventional sulphate precursors.

Keywords: electroplating; cadmium telluride (CdTe); CdCl 2 treatment; material characterisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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