ELECTRODEPOSITION OF CDTE BY POTENTIOSTATIC AND PERIODIC PULSE TECHNIQUES

Cadmium telluride was electrodeposited from an aqueous solution containing the species CdCl2 and TeO2 by potentiostatic and periodic pulse techniques. The effect of different parameters such as concentration of the individual species, hydrogen ion concentration, applied potential and temperature are analysed to obtain optimum conditions for codeposition. X-ray diffractograms, X-ray microprobe analysis, scanning electron microscopy and voltammetry were employed to understand the crystalline nature, elemental composition and surface properties of the deposited films. A theoretical model has been developed for the electrodeposition of CdTe to understand the mechanism involved in the process. The results are discussed.