Photoresistic Effect in Pb1–xCdₓS Films Produced by Vacuum Deposition

This paper aims to obtain thin photoresistive films of lead sulfide doped with cadmium using magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation in a vacuum. It describes the methods of solid-phase synthesis of lead-cadmium sulfide solid solutions of the required composition and sintering of a ceramic target for DC magnetron sputtering. The composition of the resulting targets corresponds to a homogeneous solid solution based on galena. Pb0,96Cd0,04S films were deposited by spluttering a ceramic target with magnetron DC spraying onto sitall and silicon substrates. The phase composition of the deposited films corresponds to that of the sputtered target and the resulting films exhibit a photoresistive effect. The authors determined the dark-light resistance ratio and time constants of the obtained photoresistive films. Pb0,96Cd0,04S films on silicon substrates exhibit higher sensitivity compared to those deposited on sitall. Pb0,88Cd0,12S and CDs were deposited by electron beam evaporation from a graphite crucible. Pb0,88Cd0,12S films deposited using the electron beam method showed no photoresistive effect. The best dark-light resistance ratio and a time constant of 25 microseconds were demonstrated by Pb0,96Cd0,04S films on a silicon substrate.