Faculty Publications
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Item Synthesis and band gap tuning in CdSe(1-x)Te(x) thin films for solar cell applications(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Santhosh, T.C.M.; Bangera, K.V.; Shivakumar, G.K.Thin films of CdSe(1-x)Te(x) (x = 0 – 1) were grown on to the glass substrates by thermal evaporation method (PVD). The effect of annealing duration on the formation of single phase ternary alloys were systematically investigated. The prepared thin films were characterized by using FE-SEM, EDS and X-ray diffractometer. The X-ray diffraction studies shows that vacuum annealed films are polycrystalline in nature, and well oriented along a preferred direction of (0 0 2) for hexagonal and along (1 1 1) for cubic crystal structure. It is observed that increase in the CdTe concentration leads to change in the crystal structure from hexagonal to cubic. The absorption coefficients and optical band gaps were evaluated from spectrometric measurements. It is observed that optical band gap can be tuned from 1.67 eV to 1.51 eV as value of x varied from 0 to 1. © 2017 Elsevier LtdItem Effect of annealing on the properties of spray-pyrolysed lead sulphide thin films for solar cell application(Springer Verlag service@springer.de, 2017) Veena, E.; Bangera, K.V.; Shivakumar, G.K.Annealing is the most important processing parameter perhaps as it directly affects the properties of the thin films. In the present article, lead sulphide thin films composed of (2 0 0) plane-oriented nano-rods were successfully synthesized on glass substrates using spray pyrolysis technique at annealing temperature 350 °C. Films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX), UV–VIS–NIR spectrometry and two-probe experiments. The X-ray diffraction study confirmed that films exhibiting face-centred cubic structure with a preferred orientation along (2 0 0) plane were independent of annealing temperature. SEM photographs revealed the formation of nano-rods. The possible formation of nano-rods and its dependency on optical and electrical properties were discussed. Chemical composition in terms of atomic ratio of the constituents is determined from EDAX studies. The optical band gap of the lead sulphide thin films was found to decrease from 1.22 to 0.98 eV with an increase in annealing temperature. The electrical conductivity of the films at room temperature was of the order of 10?2 ??1 cm?1 with the low activation energy. Results prove that lead sulphide films grown by chemical method appeal its adoptability for potential solar cell applications. © 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Item Effective role of thickness on structural, electrical and optical properties of lead sulphide thin films for photovoltaic applications(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Veena, E.; Bangera, K.V.; Shivakumar, G.K.The n-type lead sulphide thin films were deposited at 350 °C substrate temperature on glass substrates using advanced spray pyrolysis technique. The thickness of the thin films played an important role to improve the properties of lead sulphide and to use in device fabrication apart from various deposition parameters. The films deposited at thickness of 520 nm resulted in a well oriented polycrystalline with face-centered cubic structure. An enhancement in the crystallite size with increase in film thickness was evidenced by XRD and SEM. The variation in crystallite size of films associated with different thickness provides a significant control over optical and electrical properties. The resistivity of the thin films decreased with an increase in thickness was of the order of 102 ? cm. The activation energy and optical band gap of the films deposited at optimized condition were found to be 0.20 eV and 1.22 eV, respectively. The absorption coefficient of the films was found to be 106 cm?1. Results prove that the lead sulphide films synthesized using spray technique appeal its adaptability for potential photovoltaic applications in solar cells. © 2017Item Effect of substrate temperature on the suitability of thermally deposited cadmium sulfide thin films as window layer in photovoltaic cells(Academic Press, 2018) Barman, B.; Bangera, K.V.; Shivakumar, G.K.Cadmium sulfide has been studied as an important material in solar energy research because of its energy band gap and attractive electrical characteristics. While thin films of cadmium sulfide have been found to be useful as window layer in a solar cell, the role of various deposition parameters is yet to be understood. In the current study, the role of substrate temperature on the characteristics of the CdS thin films is analyzed. Thin films of cadmium sulfide (?450 nm thick) were deposited at various substrate temperatures viz., 300 K, 323 K, 373 K, and 423 K onto clean glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation method. The structural, morphological, and opto-electrical properties of the deposited films were studied as a function of substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study revealed that the thin films are polycrystalline in nature and having a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure along (002) plane. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that the grown films are homogeneous, uniform and pin-hole free. All the films deposited at various substrate temperature displayed high optical transmittance (>60%) in the visible range. The optical energy band gap of the films was estimated using Tauc's plot and was found to increase by a slight margin with an increase in the substrate temperature and decrease at higher substrate temperature. The photosensitivity was found to be highest for the CdS thin film grown at a substrate temperature of 373 K. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd