Optical constants of cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films were determined in the spectral range of 400–1200 nm from optical absorption and transmittance measurements for different bath temperatures. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were the techniques used to determine the crystallite structure and morphology of the films. EDX images showed that a sample had a stoichiometric composition. The crystallite size and microstrain were calculated using the Williamson–Hall method. The optical band gap values of the films varied from 2.35 eV to 2.5 eV, depending on the bath temperature. Optical study was performed to calculate the refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), optical conductivity (σ), dielectric constant (real and imaginary), and optical band gap using transmission spectra. It has been observed that the conductivity of the synthesized films has a close relationship with the size of the crystallites. The optical conductivity and the crystallite size increase at a temperature of up to 70°C and then start decreasing when the temperature is still increased due to the change in phase from hexagonal to cubic in nature. Moreover, we observed that beyond this temperature the XRD peak shifts toward the nanoregion. The values of microstructure parameters change drastically, whereas the trend of optical constants remains the same.
