Microstructure optical and electrical studies of cadmium selenide thin films

Nucleation and growth of cadmium selenide thin films are of considerable interest because of their direct effect on the optical and electrical properties of this material. Vacuum‐deposited layers on amorphous and crystalline substrates showed a polycrystalline structure. The layers were deposited at a pressure of 10−4 Pa, with two deposition rates of 12 nm/s and 15 nm/s. The electrical resistivity and the optical absorption were studied for a group of layers on quartz substrate. As well the morphology and the microstructure were investigated by X‐ray and electron microscopy. Few activation energies were estimated from the optical absorbance and thermo‐resistance.