CEFMA ABS 2026 0121 Optical Response of Nanostructured CdTe Thin Films Deposited by Oblique Angle

Optical Response of Nanostructured CdTe Thin Films Deposited by Oblique Angle Evaporation on Ag Nanostructured Substrates CEFMA-ABS-2026-0121 Autores Rios Flores, Araceli 1; Borges Pool, Alicia 2; Castro Rodríguez, Román Ernesto 1; Méndez Gamboa, José Ángel 2 Afiliaciones 1. Departmen t of Applied Physics, Center for Research an Advanced Studies, Campus Mérida, Km 6 Carretera Antigua a Progreso, C.P. 97319, Cordemex, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. 2 Materials Science Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Yucatan, CP 97130, Mérida, Yuc., Mexico Resumen (240 palabras) Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a direct-bandgap semiconductor with a high optical absorption coefficient, making it a promising material for thin-film photovoltaic applications. In this work, nanostructured CdTe thin films were fabricated by thermal evaporation using oblique angle deposition (OAD) to control their morphology, crystalline structure, and optical response. CdTe films were deposited at incidence angles of 0°, 45°, and 70° using high-purity CdTe powder as the evaporation source and Ag nanostructured substrates. The optical response of the resulting structures was investigated by UV–Vis spectroscopy in the 400–1000 nm range. The morphology and elemental composition of the Ag/CdTe structures were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, while the crystalline properties of the CdTe films deposited at different angles were evaluated by X-ray diffraction. The Ag nanostructures exhibited characteristic features in their optical transmittance spectra, including spectral features near 320 nm and in the 695–712 nm range. The CdTe films showed an angle-dependent optical response, indicating that the deposition geometry influences their light absorption behavior. Furthermore, the incorporation of Ag nanostructures produced a distinct modification of the optical response of the Ag/CdTe structures compared with CdTe films deposited without Ag. These results demonstrate that the combination of oblique-angle deposition and Ag nanostructuring provides an effective strategy for tailoring the morphology, crystalline structure, and light–matter interaction of CdTe thin films. This approach may contribute to the development of nanostructured absorber layers and optical light-management architectures for thin-film photovoltaic applications.