Effects of annealing on the properties of SnSe films

Tin selenide thin films were deposited potentiostatically from an unstirred aqueous solution containing Sn-EDTA and Na2SeO3 onto indium-doped tin oxide glass substrates. The difference in the structural and compositional properties of the film before and after heat treatment in a nitrogen atmosphere were studied. The as-grown and treated films were characterised using various techniques such as X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Photoactivity of the samples was studied using linear sweep voltammetry. An annealing temperature of 150°C was found to be the optimum temperature.