Chemical bath deposition of single-phase (Pb,Cd)S solid solutions

Pb1-xCdxS films have been deposited by chemical bath deposition with particular attention paid to the formation of single phase films. Using a combination of citrate and ethylenediamine complexes, single phase films (verified by a combination of X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis) could be reproducibly formed up to a maximum of x = 0.15, and irreproducibly up to 0.18. Attempts to increase the Cd content further resulted in formation of an initial layer of pure CdS but without any increase (in fact, a decrease often occurred) in the Cd content of the subsequent solid solution film. The effects of variation of the deposition parameters (pH, temperature, concentrations of various reactants) on the chemical and phase compositions of the films are described.