Structure and morphology of chemical-sprayed CdS films

The preparation of CdS films by chemical spray pyrolysis is described; the film-growth technique has potential for large-scale inexpensive production of semiconductor materials for photoconductors and photovoltaic applications. Study of the structures and morphologies of the pyrolytic chemical-sprayed CdS films indicates that their surface contains many nodular and serpentine features, and that the crystallite size is generally a few hundred nanometers. Contamination effects, device junction area and the very large optical scattering of the films are also discussed.