The effectofannealinginnitrogenatmosphereonstructuralandelectricalpropertiesofseleniumrich
CdSe (SR-CdSe)thinfilmsdepositedbythermalevaporationontoglasssubstrateswerestudied.X-ray
diffraction(XRD)patternsshowedthattheas-preparedfilmswereamorphous,whereastheannealed
filmswerepolycrystalline.AnalyzingXRDpatternsrevealsthecoexistenceofbothSeandCdSe
crystallinephaseswhichexhibitsahexagonalstructure.Themicrostructureparameters(crystallite
size, microstrainanddislocationdensity)werecalculatedforannealedfilms.
Temperaturedependence(300–500K)ofd.c.conductivitywasstudiedforas-preparedand
annealedthinfilms.Theexperimentalresultsindicatethattheelectricalconductiontakingplace
throughthermallyactivatedprocess.Athighertemperatures,electricalconductionforas-preparedfilm
is takingplaceintheextendedstateswhilelocalizedstatesconductioninthebandtailsismostlikelyto
take placeforannealedfilms.Regardingthelowertemperaturerange,conductionbyhoppinginthe
localizedstatesneartheFermilevelisfoundtobedominant.Thus,conductivitydatainthisrangewas
analyzedusingMott’svariablerangehoppingconduction,whereMott’sparameterswerecalculatedfor
SR-CdSe thinfilms.