Annealing effect on structural, morphological, and optical behaviors of CBD-CdS nanostructured films for solar cells

In the current work, the effect of an annealing process on structural, morphological, and optical behaviors of cadmium sulfide thin films is presented. A chemical bath deposition method for cadmium sulfide deposition is based on the use of glycine as a complexing agent. Cadmium sulfide thin films were grown by chemical bath deposition and annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere at 0, 100, 150, 200, and 250 °C for 30 minutes. Crystallographic and morphological studies of CdS thin films were performed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The optical behavior of CdS thin films was evaluated by UV-Visible spectroscopy and band gap values were calculated by approximation using a Tauc plot. After annealed, densified CdS films formed by nanostructured crystallites exhibit suitable band gap values and present relatively high transmittance in the visible region, allowing their application as a window material for solar cells.