Characterization of electrosynthesized iron diselenide thin films

Iron diselenide (FeSe₂) is an interesting p-type semiconductor with a band gap of 1 eV suitable for solar cell applications. Deposition of FeSe₂ thin films by electrodeposition from aqueous solutions is a low temperature and inexpensive technique. In the present work, FeSe₂ thin films were deposited onto tin oxide coated conducting glass substrates by cathodic electrodeposition technique. The deposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Scanning electron microscope and optical absorption techniques. The effects of electrolyte concentration and deposition potential on the structural, compositional, morphological and optical properties of FeSe₂ thin films are studied. The experimental observations are discussed in detail.