A study of the growth dependant properties of undoped and in-situ doped chemically deposited CdS thin films

Cadmium sulfide thin films have been produced by the chemical bath deposition method in order to study the growth dependant properties and composition of the CdS. The specific categories of interest include deposition temperature, in-situ indium doping, and post deposition annealing. The films were subjected to a number of analysis techniques including atomic force microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and environmental scanning electron microscopy with charge contrast imaging. Results from this analysis reveal many interesting details concerning the surface topography, the effect of deposition temperature on film composition, and the distribution of indium dopant throughout the film. After annealing in an air atmosphere, nodule like structures have appeared, the indium dopant was found to have an inhomogeneous distribution through the depth of the film, and colloidal particulate deposition was found to increase at higher deposition temperatures.