In-situ boron doping of chemical-bath deposited CdS thin films

In-situ boron doping of CdS using chemical-bath deposition (CBD) is reported. The effect of B doping on optical properties, as well as electrical properties, crystal structure, chemistry, and morphology of CdS films is studied. We present successful approach towards B doping of CdS using CBD where a resistivity as low as 1.7 x10(-2) Omega cm and a carner density as high as 1.91 x 10(19) cm(-3) were achieved. The band gap of B-doped films was found to slightly decrease as the [B]/[Cd] ratio in the solution increases. X-ray diffraction studies showed B3+ ions likely center the lattice substitutionally. A phase transition, due to annealing, as well as induced lattice defects, due to B doping, were detected by micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The chemistry and morphology of films were uneffected by B-doping. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim