Analyses of Photoluminescence Spectra of CdTe Thin Films at Different Temperatures

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of thin films of CdTe grown on glass by evaporation have been obtained at different laser powers and at different temperatures near and to the red end of the band gap. We suggest an analytical method which deconvolutes the PL spectrum into peaks corresponding to the main electronic transitions. Each spectrum was analytically fitted to eight Gaussian peaks. Gaussian peaks have been found to give the best fit to the spectrum. The quality of the fit can be checked by the fact that the positions and the widths of the eight peaks of each PL spectrum should agree with the fit to another spectrum taken at a different excitation power or a different sample temperature. These results may help to identify these peaks and suggest a model for the shallow electrically active states between the conduction and valance bands of CdTe thin films.