Photoelectrochemical investigations on electrochemically deposited CdSe and Fe-doped CdSe thin films

Thin films of CdSe and Fe-doped CdSe (Fe:CdSe) were deposited onto stainless steel substrates by electrodeposition technique. The photoelectrochemical investigations have been carried out using the cell configurations CdSe/1 M (Na2S–S–NaOH)/C and Fe:CdSe/1 M (Na2S–S–NaOH)/C for studying the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics in dark and under illumination, photovoltaic output, spectral response, photovoltaic rise and decay characteristics. The studies reveal that films are n-type conductivity. The junction quality factor in light (nl), series and shunt resistance (Rs and Rsh), fill factor (FF) and efficiency (η) for the cell have been estimated. After Fe doping, efficiency and FF of PEC solar cell is found to be improved from 0.34% and 31.12 to 1.80% and 35.78, respectively.