Thin films of copper-zinc sulphide (CxZn1-xS) have been deposited by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) technique at 400 °C on soda-lime substrates. The films contained copper dithiocarbamate and zinc dithiocarbamate of various concentrations. The effect of the precursor’s concentration was investigated using Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The precursors’ FTIR spectrums have the characteristics of copper sulphide and zinc sulphide absorption bands below 800 cm-1. The optical properties for all the samples were studied by reading the absorbance and transmittance spectra in the range of 300 - 900 nm. The results indicate direct bandgap energy that ranged between 2.20 to 3.42 eV. The films were found to have a very high transmittance in the visible and near-infrared regions and an average reflectance of about 0.14 in the same regions. Optical constants like refractive index, extinction coefficient, and optical conductivity were estimated as a function of photon energy. The various properties exhibited by the films indicate that the films can find application in various optoelectronic devices.

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Highlights• Single solid source precursor is a novel technique in thin-film fabrication.• Single solid source precursor reduces the limitations with multiply source ones.• Deposition temperature influences the copper-zinc sulphide thin films.• Material thin films are useful for solar energy generation.

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Copper cadmium sulphide thin film was deposited onto glass (soda-lime) substrates using chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique at room temperature. Chemical, optical, structural, and microstructural features were examined via the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis Spectroscopy, and High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). FTIR revealed that the associated chemical bond was below the 900 cm-1 marks. The optical band-gap of 2.36 eV was estimated from the absorption analysis. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the deposited material is polycrystalline with hexagonal and cubic structures typical of the binary constituents of and thin films. The grain sizes were randomly distributed and ranged between 35 and 60 nm as indicated by the HRTEM.