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Synthesis of band gap engineered Pb X Cd 1– X Se thin films: A study on their optical, electrical, structural and localized mechanical properties
Author(s) -
Mukherjee Nillohit,
Khan Gobinda Gopal,
Sinha Arijit,
Mondal Anup
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200925286
Subject(s) - band gap , ternary operation , materials science , thin film , analytical chemistry (journal) , electrochemistry , ternary compound , anode , electrolyte , cathode , scanning electron microscope , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , composite material , electrode , chromatography , computer science , programming language , engineering
In this work, we report a novel electrochemical technique to prepare band gap engineered IV–II–VI type ternary solid solution system of Pb x Cd 1– x Se. This technologically important material is prepared using this method for the first time. We have used a self sufficient modified electrochemical cell made up of Pb anode and a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) coated glass cathode, containing Pb(CH 3 COO) 2 , Cd(CH 3 COO) 2 , H 2 SeO 3 and Na 2 EDTA solutions with proper concentrations as the working electrolyte. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis confirms the formation of highly crystalline Pb x Cd 1– x Se, whereas, scanning electron micrograms (SEM) reveals a uniform deposition with compact surface morphology. This ternary system showed band gap energy ( E g ) of about 1.4 eV, which is in between CdSe (1.77 eV) and PbSe (0.3 eV) and reasonably good for solar energy absorption. Good rectifying behaviour of the TCO/ Pb x Cd 1– x Se hetero‐junction was established from the current–voltage measurements, which indicate the p‐type conduction nature of the deposited ternary compound. Mechanical properties of such thin films were measured by nano‐indentation.