An Investigation of SILAR Grown CdO Thin Films

Cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were deposited on the glass substrate by the modified SILAR method, using cadmium acetate dihydrate and ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution as precursors. The structural, surface morphological, elemental composition and optical properties of the deposited films were investigated via X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, EDAX, optical absorption, photo luminescence and FT-IR spectroscopy. The XRD analysis reveals that the films were polycrystalline with cubic structure. Both crystallinity and grain size were found to increase with increasing solution concentration. The energy-dispersive spectroscopic analysis confirmed the presence of Cd and O elements. The films exhibited a maximum transmittance (50% - 70%) in the infra-red region. Transmittance was found to increase with increasing precursor concentration and estimated band gap energy (Eg) was in the range of 2.17 – 2.21 eV.