Surface topography, structural, optical and dc electrical behaviors of pristine and Co-doped ZnS thin films

The prime goal of the present research is to synthesize pristine zinc sulfide (PZS) and cobalt (Co)-doped zinc sulfide (CDZS) thin films with different doping concentrations (DC) via chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The effect of Co-doping on the surface topography, structural, optical and dc-electrical behaviors of PZS thin films has been ascertained. Scanning electron microscopy images exhibited nearly sphere-shaped agglomerates of grains dispersed throughout the surface with cracks in PZS thin film whereas cracks were absent in CDZS. Atomic force microscopy image displayed smooth surface of CDZS thin film with evenly dispersed small grains. The hexagonal wurtzite structure of PZS and CDZS thin films with varied X-ray diffraction (XRD) parameters was confirmed via XRD analysis. Optical investigation revealed that the optical direct band gap energy increased with decreasing DC from 12 % to 4 %. Alteration of other optical parameters namely absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, refractive index, real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant, etc. with DC was also discussed. Direct current electrical investigation revealed that the current-voltage characteristics are linear for all thin films signifying that the electrical conduction in CDZS is ohmic in nature.