Band gap tailoring of chemically synthesized lead sulfide thin films by in situ Sn doping

In the present report, undoped and tin (Sn)‐doped lead sulfide thin films were synthesized via chemical bath deposition method. The effects of Sn molar concentration on the optical, structural, and morphological properties were systematically studied. The concentration of Sn in the chemical bath was characterized by the ratio of Sn⁺²]/Pb⁺²] and varied from 0 to 15 at.%. Both doped and undoped thin films were polycrystalline in nature with a face‐centered cubic crystal structure; however, the preferred orientations of the crystallites were varied along the (111) and (200) planes with Sn‐doping concentration. The X‐ray powder diffraction results also showed that peak intensities and the crystalline size were decreased with increasing Sn concentration. The lattice constant varied with Sn concentration and found in the range of 6.020 to 5.944 Å. The variation of Sn concentration in PbS:Sn thin films were confirmed by energy dispersive X‐ray analyses study. The scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy studies revealed that Sn doping had a critical role on the surface roughness and morphology of the PbS:Sn thin films. The optical band gap study showed that the band gap of PbS:Sn thin films were engineered from 0.676 to 1.345 eV because of incorporation of Sn⁺² ions via cost‐effective chemical route. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra showed a well‐defined peak at 427 nm and shoulders at 405 and 462 nm for all Sn‐doped and undoped PbS samples.