Structural and optical properties of CdS thin films prepared by SILAR method

Cadmium sulfide thin films were grown by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method on glass substrates using 0.2 M CdCl₂ and 0.1 M Na₂S precursor solutions. The immersion time was 20s and the rinsing time was 40s. X-ray diffractometry was used to determine grain sizes and the crystalline structure of the thin films. The morphological characterization was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy coupled to SEM and TEM were used for identifying the elements and determining the composition of the films. Optical properties were studied by spectrophotometric measurements. The results indicate that the CdS film deposited has a hexagonal structure, stoichiometric composition and high transmittance in the visible region.