XPS and XRD study of photoconductive CdS films obtained by a chemical bath deposition process

Cadmium sulfide layers have been obtained from CdCl2, CS(NH2)(2), NH4Cl, NH3 and H2O solutions using the chemical bath deposition technique at 50 degrees C. After clipping in a solution of 0.7 mass% CdCl2 in CH3OH and thermal treatment under Ar at 400 degrees C for 30 min, the CdS layers obtained acquire a photosensitivity amounting to a ratio, between photocurrent values in the light and in the dark, of four orders of magnitude. The chemical changes of the layers occurring, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), during their preparation in solution and after thermal treatment are discussed.