Fabrication and characterization of Cd(1-x)ZnxTe thin films for photovoltaic applications

High-quality polycrystalline Cd1-xZnxTe (0 < x < 1) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by the thermal evaporation technique using a single source. The Structural, optical, and electrical properties of CZT thin films were investigated by XRD, SEM, EDX, UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer, Keithly source meter 2410-C and multimeter 2010. The X-ray diffraction reveals that CZT thin films are polycrystalline with predominant diffraction along the (1 1 1) plane. The Swanepoel method is used to calculate the optical constant of thin films. It was found that the refractive index increases and transmittance decreased with an increase in Zn content. The CZT thin films have a direct band-gap and ranging from 1.62 to 2.06 eV with varying Zn content. Current-Voltage measurements showed that the photocurrent of these thin films is increasing as the Zn content is increased.

Automated summary

High-quality polycrystalline Cd1-xZnxTe (0 < x < 1) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates using thermal evaporation technique. The structural, optical, and electrical properties were investigated, showing changes in optical properties and an increase in photocurrent with higher Zn content.