Characterization of CdZnTe thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering from a single CdZnTe target

We utilized a sputtering technique by using a single Cadmium Zinc Tellurium (CdZnTe) target to form alloys of 200 nm Cd1−xZnxTe thin films onto heated (200–300–400°C) and unheated glass substrates for all 0 < × < 1 range. The films then were annealed at 150–300–450°C under the N2 ambient. Measurements were performed before and after annealing by XRD, XPS, FTIR spectroscopes. The XRD studies revealed that heated Cd1−xZnxTe films present a cubic oriented (111), (220) and (311) polycrystalline structure, whereas unheated films are largely amorphous. The XPS results under UHV were support the XRD measurements. FTIR analysis indicated that the increasing of deposition temperature increases absorption intensity. Depending on preparation conditions and heat treatment, the optical band gap calculations of respective films were obtained in the range of 1.46–1.95 eV. Results illustrate that Cd1−xZnxTe thin film sputtered at 400°C and annealed at 450°C under the N2 ambient displays a demanding behavior.