An effect of N+ ion bombardment on the properties of CdTe thin films

E-beam evaporated CdTe thin films were processed with N+ ion bombardment as in situ process. The N+ ion glow was generated using simple Multipurpose Al probe instead of conventional plasma sources. The prepared films were identified as nano crystalline using XRD analysis. High N+ ion fluence helped to grow (3 1 1) oriented CdTe thin films instead of (2 2 0) and (1 1 1). The observed results revealed the effect of N+ ion fluence on the structural parameters like lattice parameter, d space value, crystalline size, dislocation density, micro strain etc. The observed optical band gap values lie in between 1.47 and 1.77 eV. The effect of N+ ion bombardment on optical properties was also reported. Noticeable change in electrical and surface properties was also observed. The observed value shows the reproducibility as <1% and it is suggested that the N+ ion plasma was effectively utilized to modify the structural, optical and surface properties as in situ.

► Ion bombardment with N+ ion as in situ using low cost multipurpose Al probe for both for ion cleaning and ion irradiation. ► High N+ ion fluence helps to grow (3 1 1) oriented CdTe thin films instead of (2 2 0) and (1 1 1). ► Observed optical band gap values vary between 1.47 and 1.77 eV. ► Considerable changes on structural, optical and surface properties were achieved.