Substrate effect on the structure and properties of electrodeposited CdSe and Cd(Se, Te) coatings

CdSe, mainly, and Cd(Se, Te) alloy layers were cathodically electroplated onto titanium, nickel and (100) oriented nickel substrates from an acid sulphate solution at 85°C. The growth of the deposits, on Ti and Ni, was partly controlled by altering the mode of the nucleation first step. This procedure, though inhibiting the establishment of a strong crystal orientation, seems to positively affect the photoconversion efficiency of the CdSe films on Ni. Crystallized deposits with defined stoichiometry are obtained on (100) oriented Ni cathodes along a narrower, than the typical case, range of electrolysis potentials. The polycrystalline films are always cubic and the measured photoconversion efficiencies reach 2.6%.