Chemical bath deposition of indium sulphide thin films: preparation and characterization

Indium sulphide (In 2S 3) thin films have been successfully deposited on different substrates under varying deposition conditions using chemical bath deposition technique. The deposition mechanism of In 2S 3 thin films from thioacetamide deposition bath has been proposed. Films have been characterized with respect to their crystalline structure, composition, optical and electrical properties by means of X-ray diffraction, TEM, EDAX, optical absorption, TRMC (time resolved microwave conductivity) and RBS. Films on glass substrates were amorphous and on FTO (flourine doped tin oxide coated) glass substrates were polycrystalline (∈ phase). The optical band gap of In 2S 3 thin film was estimated to be 2.75 eV. The as-deposited films were photoactive as evidenced by TRMC studies. The presence of oxygen in the film was detected by RBS analysis.