Influence of deposition temperature on ZnS thin film performance with chemical bath deposition

ZnS thin films had been deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method onto glass substrates in alkaline liquor. Thickness, surface morphology, structure and transmittance of ZnS thin films deposited at different temperatures (75 degrees C, 80 degrees C, 85 degrees C, 90 degrees C and 95 degrees C) were measured. Microstructure and chemical composition of the deposited thin films were confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and its attaching energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The results show that ZnS thin film thicknesses are about 73-200 nm. SEM results reveal that annealing make some particles grow up and the surface smooth and even through comparing the surface morphology before and after annealing. TEM and EDS analysis results indicate that the annealed thin films contain Zn and S and have microcrystalline structure. The ZnS thin films have high transmittance of about 78% in the range of 350-800 nm. The transmittance of annealed ZnS thin film is lower than that of deposited ZnS thin film in the range of 350-800 nm. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.