Light-assisted deposition of CdS thin films

The effects of white light illumination during the deposition of CdS thin films in a quasi-closed volume on the structural, photoelectrical and optical properties are investigated. The films were highly c-axis oriented with an increasing intensity of (002) reflection as the illumination increases. The room temperature resistivity values of the CdS films decreased in the range of 10(7)-10(4) Omega cm. The photosensitivity in the fundamental absorption region and the transparency in the transmission region considerably increased as the illumination increased. Under 100 mW cm(-2) insolation, the efficiencies of the CdS/CdTe solar cells based on CdS window materials which were deposited: (1) in the dark; and (2) under an illumination of 150 mW cm(-2) were found to be 1.8% and 7.3%, respectively.