Investigations on microstructural and optical properties of US films fabricated by a low-cost, simplified spray technique using perfume atomizer for solar cell applications

Good quality CdS films were fabricated by employing a simplified spray pyrolysis technique using perfume atomizer. CdS films have been deposited from aqueous solutions of sulphur and cadmium, keeping the molar concentrations of S:Cd = 0.01:0.01, 0.02:0.02, 0.04:0.04 and 0.06:0.06 in the starting solutions. The structural studies reveal that the S:Cd concentration has a strong influence on the microstructural characteristics of the sprayed CdS films. It was found that there is a transition in the preferred orientation from (0 0 2) plane to (10 1) plane when S:Cd molar concentration increases. The SEM images depict that the films are uniform and homogeneous. All the films have high optical transmittance (>80%) in the visible range. The optical band gap values are found to be in the range of 2.46-2.52 eV. US films fabricated by this simple and economic spray technique without using any carrier gas are found to be good in structural and optical properties which are desirable for photovoltaic applications. Hence, this simplified version of spray technique can be considered as an economic alternative to conventional spray pyrolysis (using carrier gas), for the mass production of low-cost, large area US coatings for solar cell applications. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.