Effects of Sn-doping on morphology and optical properties of CdTe polycrystalline films

Sn-doped CdTe polycrystalline films were successfully deposited on ITO glass substrates by close space sublimation. The effects of Sn-doping on the microstructure, surface morphology, and optical properties of polycrystalline films were studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, respectively. The results show that the lower molar ratio of Sn and CdTe conduces to a strongly preferential orientation of (111) in films and a larger grain size, which indicates that the crystallinity of films can be improved by appropriate Sn-doping. As the molar ratio of Sn and CdTe increases, the preferential orientation of (111) in films becomes weaker, the grain size becomes smaller, and the crystal boundary becomes indistinct, which indicates that the crystallization growth of films is incomplete. However, as the Sn content increases, optical absorption becomes stronger in the visible region. In summary, a strongly preferential orientation of (111) in films and a larger grain size can be obtained by appropriate Sn-doping (molar ratio of Sn : CdTe = 0.06 : 1), while the film retains a relatively high optical absorption in the visible region. However, Sn-doping has no obvious influence on the energy gap of CdTe films.