Nanocrystalline thin films of Lead doped ZnS (ZnPbS) have been successfully
synthesized by a simple and cost-effective technique named as Chemical Bath Deposition
(CBD). Concentration of lead was varied from 3, 6, 9 and 12 %. The synthesis
methodology has been optimized to achieve dense and smooth thin films on the surface
of the glass substrates. The apparatus of Chemical Bath Deposition has been established
locally using circulating water bath. After synthesis, structural, morphological and
optical properties of deposited thin films have been studied to speculate the applications
of these thin films. X-ray diffraction patterns reveals that the lead doped ZnS thin films
exabit polycrystalline in nature. Broad diffraction peaks confirm the growth of material
at nano level. A slight shift of diffraction peaks towards higher 2θ values is an evidence
of lead incorporation into the ZnS lattice. The crystallite size varies from 4.86 to 5.99 Å
as the concentration of lead increases from 3 to 12%. SEM micrographs show that almost
spherical nanoparticles with an average size of 80 to 170 nm are uniformly distributed
throughout the substrates surface. Growth of agglomerated particles having almost equal
size represents the controlled growth of nanocrystals. Photoluminescence spectrum of
ZnPbS thin films shows two peaks at 587 and 712 nm exabit that would be useful for
advanced optoelectronic devices.
Keywords: Chemical bath deposition (CBD), Pb doped ZnS thin films(ZnPbS), X-ray
diffraction, Morphology, Photoluminescence.