Analysis of chemically deposited CdSe and CdS thin films

We have successfully deposited quality polycrystalline thin films of CdSe and CdS on Corning 7059 glass slides by the electroless chemical bath technique at room temperature (~27 $^\circ$C). X-ray analysis confirmed the successful deposition of CdSe and CdS thin films. Our grown CdSe film thickness ranged from 0.10 $\mu$m. to 0.80 $\pm$ 0.01 $\mu$m and the CdS film thickness ranged from 0.10 $\mu$m to 1.00 $\pm$ 0.01 $\mu$m. The scanning electron micrograph of the films reveals uniform film surface. The energy gaps, $E_g$ determined for our CdSe and CdS films have average values of 1.70 $\pm$ 0.04 eV and 2.15 $\pm$ 0.04 eV respectively. The films have high absorbance in the 0.35 $\mu$m - 0.85 $\mu$m range. These qualities make them suitable for use in thin film solar cell technology.