Structural, morphological and electrical properties of Zn doped PbS thin films by chemical spray pyrolysis technique

In this work, structural and electrical properties of Zinc doped lead sulfide (PbS) thin films are benign reported. Lead sulfide thin films with different Zn doping concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 3 at %) were deposited on glass substrates using the chemical spray pyrolysis technique. Effect of Zn doping on the structural, morphological and electrical properties of the films was studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that all the films exhibit face centered cubic structure with a preferred orientation along the (2 0 0) plane irrespective of Zn doping concentration. Thus, the film's grains decreased in size with increasing Zn content. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements is showed that the surface roughness of the films is decreased due to zinc doping as well. In addition, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used for elemental analysis of films regarding Zn concentrations. The accuracy is determined by comparing the XRF data with 1, 2 and 3 at-% Zn dopants concentrations. Finally, electrical studies revealed that the film coated with 3 at-% Zn dopant has a maximum carrier concentration of 1.39x10(13) cm(-3). The obtained results infer that the (PbS: Zn) film coated with 3 at% Zn dopant has better structural, morphological and electrical properties.