Recent Advances in the Growth and Characterizations of SILAR-Deposited Thin Films

Many researchers have reported on the preparation and characterization of thin films. The prepared thin films could be used in lasers, cathodic ray tubes, solar cells, infrared windows, ultraviolet light emitting diodes, sensors, supercapacitors, biologic applications, and optoelectronic applications. The properties of these thin films strongly depend on the deposition techniques. Throughout the years, many investigations into the production of various types of thin films (by using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method) were conducted. This method attracts interest as it possesses many advantages when compared to other deposition methods. For example, large area depositions could be carried out in any substrates at lower temperatures via inexpensive instruments; moreover, a vacuum chamber is not required, it has an excellent growth rate, and the unique film properties could be controlled. In this work, metal sulfide, metal selenide, metal oxide, and metal telluride were deposited on substrates by using the SILAR method. According to the findings, both thick and thin films could be synthesized under specific conditions during the experiment. Additionally, the results showed that the number of deposition cycles, rinsing times, immersion times, and concentrations of the precursors affected the crystallinities, grain sizes, film thicknesses, surface roughness, and shapes of the obtained films. These films could be used in solar cell applications with high power conversion efficiency due to the appropriate band gap value and high absorption coefficient value.