Facile synthesis of indium doped CdSe thin films: microstructural and optoelectronic characteristics

Indium-doped CdSe has shown great potential as an active absorber and a window material in optoelectronic devices. In this communication, surface engineering of CdSe thin films was achieved by indium doping using an indigenously developed chemical growth technique. The substantial replacement of Cd2+ by In3+ was observed through the compositional studies. Surface microscopic studies revealed tiny spherical crystallites in a diffused environment with large inter-granular spacings. Atomic force microscopy shows an increased surface roughness and crystallite size. The energy band gap (E-g) of CdSe (1.80 eV) was shifted towards the ideal value (1.54 eV) with the integration of In3+ in the CdSe host. The In3+ impurity increases absorption, and upgrades the refractive index and dielectric constants (static, real, and imaginary) of CdSe thin films, further, beneficial to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices. The electrical conductivity was modulated up to 8.10 x 10(-5) (omega cm)(-1) for x = 0.1.