The Effect of Plasma Surface Treatment on the Structure of the Lead Sulfide Film

Abstract

In this work, the effect of the substrate surface on the formation of structured lead sulfide films is studied. For this purpose, the surface of single-crystalline silicon (100) was subjected to plasma treatment in a glow discharge in an argon atmosphere, at a working pressure of 1 Pa and a potential difference across the electrodes of 2 kV. Lead sulfide films were obtained on treated and untreated single-crystalline silicon surfaces by chemical deposition from an aqueous solution of lead nitrate, thiourea and sodium hydroxide at a temperature of 70°C for 30 minutes. The surface morphology, elemental composition, and crystal structure were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis, and X-ray diffraction, respectively. As a result, the films deposited on pretreated substrates have a distinctly different surface structure compared to films deposited on untreated substrates. Under the same synthesis conditions, the growth of crystals on the treated surface occurred predominantly along certain lines and were grouped into individual particles, while on the untreated surface a continuous film was formed. Thus, through plasma treatment, crystal growth can be controlled to create nanostructures.