GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ELECTRODEPOSITED FILMS OF CADMIUM TELLURIDE ON SILICON

This work describes the growth and characterization of electrodeposited films of the II-VI semiconductor CdTe directly on to p- and n-type silicon. In-situ ellipsometry has revealed the presence of a spontaneously deposited Te layer on illuminated p-type Si and on n-type Si. The growth of the spontaneous layer has been verified by the other techniques used to characterize the electrodeposited films, such as differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, energy dispersive analysis by X-rays, Rutherford backscattering and X-ray diffraction. The subsequent growth of the CdTe layer on top of this is close to stoichiometric composition but the film does not appear to form a coherent layer.