ZnxCd1-xS thin films: A study towards its application as a reliable photodetector

Abstract

A reliable and stable photodetector shows enormous potential applications in health monitoring, intelligent wearable devices, and biological sensing. The noble opto-electrical properties of cadmium sulfide (CdS) makes it a favorable semiconductor for opto-electrical devices. The properties of CdS thin film can further be enhanced by alloying it with zinc sulfide (ZnS) to form ZnxCd1-xS compound semiconductor. Herein, a high performance, ZnxCd1-xS (x = 0, 0.15, 0.30, and 0.45) photodetector with good stability is designed and fabricated via a simple vacuum thermal evaporation technique. The various photodetector parameters of the ZnxCd1-xS films were investigated as a function of its composition. Among the various compositions of the ZnxCd1-xS thin films, the Zn0.15Cd0.85S films displayed excellent photosensitivity as high as 2.22 which is ~1.6 times higher than that of undoped CdS thin films. The research data suggests that a high-performance single layer ZnxCd1-xS photodetector with good stability and reproducibility can be fabricated using a thermal evaporation technique. � 2019 Elsevier Ltd