Role of complexing agents in chemical bath deposition of lead sulfide thin films

Abstract Lead sulfide semiconductor thin films have been deposited by the chemical bath technique at a low temperature (43 °C) on glass substrate. The effect of complexing agents as hydrazine and hydrazine–ammonia was studied to determine the optimum conditions for depositions. The thin films obtained were structurally and electrically characterized. Hydrazine and ammonia–hydrazine as complexing agents reduce the deposition rate due to higher complexation and slow generation of Pb2+ improving the morphology of PbS thin films. Homogeneous PbS thin films with cubic crystalline structure were obtained after the deposition process. The deposited thin films showed an ohmic behavior in the metal–semiconductor interface with resistivity values in the order from 0.4 to 65 Ω cm which is very promising to integrate the material in the fabrication of electronic devices.