Morphological and chemical study of the initial growth of CdS thin films deposited using an ammonia-free chemical process |
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Authors: | D.A. Mazó n-Montijo,M. Quevedo-Ló pez,H.N. Alshareef,R. Ramí rez-Bon |
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Affiliation: | a Centro de Investigación en Polímeros y Materiales, Universidad de Sonora, Apdo. Postal 130, 83190 Hermosillo, Son., Mexico b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 305310 Denton, TX 76203-5310, United States c SEMATECH, 2706 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX 78741, United States d Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad Querétaro, Apdo. Postal 1-798, 76001 Querétaro, Qro., Mexico |
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Abstract: | We study the initial growth stages of CdS thin films deposited by an ammonia-free chemical bath deposition process. This ammonia-free process is more environmentally benign because it reduces potential ammonia release to the environment due to its high volatility. Instead of ammonia, sodium citrate was used as the complexing agent. We used atomic force microscopy (AFM), Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the morphological and chemical modifications at the substrate surface during the first initial stages of the CdS deposition process. Additionally, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical transmission spectroscopy measurements were carried out to compliment the study. XPS results show that the first nucleation centers are composed by Cd(OH)2 which agglomerate in patterns of bands, as demonstrated by AFM results. It is also observed that the conversion to CdS (by anionic exchange) of the first nucleus begins before the substrate surface is completely covered by a homogenous film. |
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Keywords: | Atomic force microscopy X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Cadmium sulfide Thin film structures Semi-conducting films |
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