Structural, electrical and optical properties of nanocrystalline Cd1−xFexSe thin films deposited by chemical spray technique

Nanocrystalline Cd1−xFexSe thin films were successfully deposited onto glass substrates at temperature 573 K from aqueous solutions of ferric chloride, cadmium chloride and selenium powder using the chemical spray technique. The structural, morphological, compositional, electrical and optical characterizations were carried out using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), atomic force microscopy (AFM), resistivity and optical absorption measurement techniques. The deposited Cd1−xFexSe thin films are nanocrystalline in nature with hexagonal lattice. The optical band gap of CdSe thin film is of the order of 1.85 eV and it increases with the compositional parameter ‘x’ and becomes 2.60 eV for FeSe thin film. The electrical resistivity of Cd1−xFexSe thin films is of the order of 106 Ω cm and shows variation depending on ‘x’. The thermo-emf measurement confirms n-type conductivity of Cd1−xFexSe thin films.