Growth and Characterization of Cd1−XZnX Te-Sintered Films

Abstract

The II-VI polycrystalline semiconducting materials have come under increased scrutiny because of their wide use in the cost reduction of devices for photovoltaic applications. Cd1−XZnX Te is one of the II-VI ternary semiconductor materials whose bandgap can be tailored to any value between 1.48–2.26 eV as X varies from 0 to 1. It is promising material for high-efficiency solar cells, switching, and other optoelectronic devices. Polycrystalline thin film of Cd1−XZnX Te with variable composition ( 0≤X≤1 ) has been deposited on ultraclean glass substrates by screen printing method followed by sintering process. The optical and structural properties of Cd1−XZnX Te thin films have been examined. The optical bandgap of these films is studied using reflection spectra in wavelength range of 350–900 nm by using double beam spectrophotometer. The structure of sample was determined from X-ray diffraction patterns. The films were polycrystalline in nature having wurtzite (Hexagonal) structure over the whole range studied. The lattice parameters vary almost linearly with the composition parameter X , following Vegard's law. Sintering is a very simple and viable method compared to other cost-intensive methods. The results of the present investigation will be useful in characterizing the material CdZnTe for its applications in photovoltaics.