:
Thin films of PbS were prepared onto glass substrates by using a simple and cost effective CBD method. Influence of deposition time on structural, morphology and optical properties have been investigated systematically. The XRD analysis revealed that
PbS films are polycrystalline with preferred orientation in (200) direction. Enhancement in crystallinity and PbS crystallite size has
been observed with increase in deposition time. Formation of single phase PbS thin films has been further confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The surface morphology analysis revealed the formation of prismatic and pebble-like PbS particles and with increase in
deposition time these PbS particles are separated from each other without secondary growth. The data obtained from the EDX spectra
shows the formation of high-quality but slightly sulfur rich PbS thin films over the entire range of deposition time studied. All films
show increase in absorption with increase in deposition time and a strong absorption in the visible and sub-band gap regime of NIR
range of the spectrum with red shift in band edge. The optical band gap shows decreasing trend, as deposition time increases but it is
higher than the band gap of bulk PbS.
