Physical properties of Bi-doped CdTe thin films deposited by cosputtering

• Published in: Physica status solidi. A, Applications and materials science Applications and materials science, 2007-03, Vol.204 (3), p.768-775
• Main Authors: Becerril, M., Vigil-Galán, O., Contreras-Puente, G., Sánchez-Meza, E., Zelaya-Angel, O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 61.10.Nz; 68.37.Ps; 68.55.−a; 73.61.Ga; 78.40.Ha; 81.15.Cd; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Electrical properties of specific thin films; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Ii-vi semiconductors; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of specific thin films; Physics; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology
• ISSN: 1862-6300; 0031-8965; 1862-6319
• DOI: 10.1002/pssa.200622335

The structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of CdTe–Bi cosputtered thin films related with composition are presented. The films were grown on Corning glass substrates at room temperature from a CdTe–Bi target. The composition measurements show that the Bi content in the films ranges from x = 0.0 to x = 6.37 at%, depending on the area fraction covered by the Bi piece attached to the CdTe target. The structure of the annealed films was determined from X‐ray diffraction measurements. Two kinds of structures were observed, depending on the Bi content: (1) CdTe polycrystalline films containing a small amount of Bi that is probably incorporated in the Cd and Te sites of the CdTe lattice. (2) Amorphization of the polycrystalline films, with higher Bi content. From the experimental results, we concluded that using this deposition method n/p‐type Bi‐doped CdTe polycrystalline films can be produced with electrical resistivity between 102–103 Ω cm and electron mobility between 101 and 102 cm2 V–1 s–1. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)