Abstract
Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates using chemical bath deposition technique (CBD). The deposition were carried out in a bath solution with pH ranged from 9 to 11. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the films structure and morphology respectively. The amorphous structure of as-deposited films is converted to a nanocrystalline one after a thermal annealing at 550 degrees C. The deposited ZnS films exhibit a high optical transmission in the UV-visible range (>= 80%). They have a direct band gap. Using a solution with pH equal to 10 yields to films with larger optical band gap, smoother surface and lower electrical conductivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.