Physical properties of transparent and conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films grown by radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering are studied systematically by changing deposition time. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data indicate polycrystalline thin films with grain orientations predominantly along the (2 2 2) and (4 0 0) directions. From atomic force microscopy (AFM) it is found that by increasing the deposition time, the roughness of the film increases. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show a network of a high-porosity interconnected nanoparticles, which approximately have a pore size ranging between 20 and 30 nm. Optical measurements suggest an average transmission of 80 % for the ITO films. Sheet resistances are investigated using fourpoint probes, which imply that by increasing the film thickness the resistivities of the films decrease to 2.43 9 10 -5 X cm.

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a p-type II-VI compound semiconductor, which is an active component for producing photovoltaic solar cells in the form of thin films, due to its desirable physical properties. In this study, CdTe film was deposited using the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system onto a glass substrate. To improve the properties of the CdTe film, effects of two experimental parameters of deposition time and RF power were investigated on the physical properties of the CdTe films. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectrophotometer were used to study the structural, morphological and optical properties of the CdTe samples grown at different experimental conditions, respectively. Our results suggest that film properties strongly depend on the experimental parameters and by optimizing these parameters, it is possible to tune the desired structural, morphological and optical properties. From XRD data, it is found that increasing the deposition time and RF power leads to increasing the crystallinity as well as the crystal sizes of the grown film, and all the films represent zinc blende cubic structure. Roughness values given from AFM images suggest increasing the roughness of the CdTe films by increasing the RF power and deposition times. Finally, optical investigations reveal increasing the film band gaps by increasing the RF power and the deposition time.

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Cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films are deposited on the fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrate using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering setup. The effects of annealing in air on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of CdS thin film are studied. Optimal annealing temperature is investigated by annealing the CdS thin film at different annealing temperatures of 300, 400, and 500°C. Thin films of CdS are characterized by X-ray diffractometer analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and four point probe. The as-grown CdS films are found to be polycrystalline in nature with a mixture of cubic and hexagonal phases. By increasing the annealing temperature to 500°C, CdS film showed cubic phase, indicating the phase transition of CdS. It is found from physical characterizations that the heat treatment in air increased the mean grain size, the transmission, and the surface roughness of the CdS thin film, which are desired to the application in solar cells as a window layer material.

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Improved properties of aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited by the magnetron sputtering at room temperature are reported. AZO is one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide materials, which widely used in thin film solar cells. In this study the optimization process of the DC magnetron sputtered AZO films was carried out at room temperature by studying its structural, optical, electrical and morphological properties at different deposition times (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min). It can be utilized as a front contact for the cadmium telluride (CdTe) based thin film solar cells. The structural study shows that the preferred orientation of grains is along plane (002), with a hexagonal structure of the grains. The electrical and optical characteristics show that the films has an average transmission of 70 % and a resistivity of the order of 10 -4 X cm. The morphology analysis suggests the formation of packed grains with a homogeneous surface.

SnO2 is considered as one of the high specific capacity anode materials for Lithium-ion batteries. However, the low electrical conductivity of SnO2 limits its applications. This manuscript reports a simple and efficient approach for the synthesis of Sb-doped SnO2 nanowires (NWs) core and carbon shell structure which effectively enhances the electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance of SnO2 nanostructures. Sb doping was performed during the vapor-liquid-solid synthesis of SnO2 NWs in a horizontal furnace. Subsequently, carbon nanolayer was coated on the NWs using the DC Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition approach. The carbon-coated shell improves the Solid-Electrolyte Interphase stability and alleviates the volume expansion of the anode electrode during charging and discharging. The Sb-doped SnO2 core carbon shell anode showed the superior specific capacity of 585 mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at the current density of 100 mA g−1, compared to the pure SnO2 NWs electrode. The cycle stability evaluation revealed that the discharge capacity of pure SnO2 NWs and Sb doped SnO2 NWs electrodes were dropped to 52 and 152 mAh g−1 after100th cycles. The process of Sb doping and carbon nano shielding of SnO2 nanostructures is proposed for noticeable improvement of the anode performance for SnO2 based materials.

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