Novel approach to the deposition of CdS by chemical bath deposition: the deposition of crystalline thin films of CdS from acidic baths

Thin films of cadmium sulfide have been deposited from acidic solutions. The films have been characterised by electronic, photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as-deposited polycrystalline CdS films are hexagonal, the crystallinity of the films is improved by annealing in air at 400 °C. The procedure also leads to a concentration of chloride at the surface of the films. Deposition from acidic baths may open up new simple synthetic routes towards the ternary cadmium-zinc sulfide system.