A NEW APPROACH TO PREPARE POLYCRYSTALLINE PbTe–TeO THIN FILM, AND ITS OPTICAL, STRUCTURAL, SURFACE AND ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION

Abstract

In this study, PbTe thin film was produced on glass substrates, via chemical bath deposition (CBD) method, with 3-h deposition time at 50∘C. The produced thin film had polycrystalline structure; TeO2, PbTe, PbTe3 and Te2O5 crystals that were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) had tetragonal, cubic, tetragonal and monoclinic crystal structures, respectively. Reflectivity ([Formula: see text]; in %), optical transmission ([Formula: see text]; in %), optical bandgap ([Formula: see text], absorption, dielectric constant ([Formula: see text], extinction coefficient ([Formula: see text] and refractive index ([Formula: see text] of polycrystalline PbTe thin film obtained using UV–Vis spectrophotometer were 29.87%, 19.41%, 3.30[Formula: see text]eV, 0.6, 3.72, 0.05 and 4.08, respectively. Grain sizes of polycrystalline PbTe thin film varied between 8.79[Formula: see text]nm and 52.55[Formula: see text]nm. Optical and electrical conductivities of the crystals according to photon energy were calculated using optical parameters, whereas their surface morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thickness of polycrystalline PbTe thin film was measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and found to be 900[Formula: see text]nm.