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Effect of Gallium Doping on the Characteristic Properties of Polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride Thin Film

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Abstract

Ga-doped CdTe polycrystalline thin films were successfully electrodeposited on glass/fluorine doped tin oxide substrates from aqueous electrolytes containing cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2·4H2O) and tellurium oxide (TeO2). The effects of different Ga-doping concentrations on the CdTe:Ga coupled with different post-growth treatments were studied by analysing the structural, optical, morphological and electronic properties of the deposited layers using x-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, photoelectrochemical cell measurement and direct-current conductivity test respectively. XRD results show diminishing (111)C CdTe peak above 20 ppm Ga-doping and the appearance of (301)M GaTe diffraction above 50 ppm Ga-doping indicating the formation of two phases; CdTe and GaTe. Although, reductions in the absorption edge slopes were observed above 20 ppm Ga-doping for the as-deposited CdTe:Ga layer, no obvious influence on the energy gap of CdTe films with Ga-doping were detected. Morphologically, reductions in grain size were observed at 50 ppm Ga-doping and above with high pinhole density within the layer. For the as-deposited CdTe:Ga layers, conduction type change from n- to p- were observed at 50 ppm, while the n-type conductivity were retained after post-growth treatment. Highest conductivity was observed at 20 ppm Ga-doping of CdTe. These results are systematically reported in this paper.

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  1. Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB, UK

    A. A. Ojo & I. M. Dharmadasa

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  1. A. A. Ojo
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  2. I. M. Dharmadasa
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Correspondence to A. A. Ojo.

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Ojo, A.A., Dharmadasa, I.M. Effect of Gallium Doping on the Characteristic Properties of Polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride Thin Film. J. Electron. Mater. 46, 5127–5135 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5519-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5519-4

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