CdS thin films formed on flexible plastic substrates by pulsed-laser deposition

The merger of a transparent plastic foil substrate with a semiconductor CdS film for a photonic application was realized using pulsed-laser deposition. Although plastic is not considered to be a favoured substrate material for semiconductor thin-film formation, the deposited CdS film possesses good adhesion, with a polycrystalline texture, flat surface (roughness/thickness = 0.003), and room-temperature photosensitivity with a blue- shifted peak at 2.54 eV. This work demonstrates the capability of pulsed-laser deposition to form novel heterostructures with appealing and useful technological properties such as plasticity and low weight.