PREPARATION OF THERMALLY EVAPORATED CdTe THIN FILMS

Thin films of cadmium telluride were prepared by evaporating cadmium telluride powder in a vacuum of less than 10^-4 Torr. The substrate temperature was varied systematically from room temperature to 300°C. The results of optical and structural characterizations have revealed that the films posses a high value of absorption coefficient with a bandgap value in the range 1.475-1.769eV, and that the films are of cubic structure with a preferred orientation along (111) plane. Four probe measurements have shown that resistivity of these films is affected by the change in substrate temperature, with the lowest value (12.6Ω-cm) being at 200°C.