Electrochemical synthesis of ZnTe thin films from citrate bath and their electrical properties with incorporation of Cu

ZnTe and ZnTe:Cu thin films were electrochemically synthesized, and their electrical properties were systematically investigated. Electrochemical redox reactions of ionic species were identified by cyclic voltammetry, presenting the underpotential deposition (UPD) of Zn on Te-site occurred in the potential range of -0.6 to -1 V vs. Ag/AgCl. ZnTe thin films electrodeposited at 80 degrees C showed polycrystalline phase with strongly preferred to (111) direction observed by XRD. XPS analysis also indicated that there were no other phases in ZnTe films. Incorporation with Cu was performed using an electrodeposition bath containing Cu precursor, Cu(NO3)(2), and the amount of incorporated Cu was varied with concentration of the Cu precursor. A significant increase in carrier mobility (similar to 1 cm(2)/Vs) and concentration (similar to 10(18)/cm(3)) compared to undoped ZnTe thin films was achieved. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was supported by the New & Renewable Energy Technology Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant (no. 20123010010160). This research was also supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (No. 2015R1A5A1037548)