Oxygen-doped CdTe films were grown on conducting glass substrates by the close spaced sublimation (CSS) method and characterized using SEM, EDS, photoluminescence (PL) and absorbance. A significant change in the polycrystalline morphology is observed when the oxygen proportion is increased in the deposition atmosphere. The EDS analysis showed that all samples are nonstoichiometric with excess Te. The PL spectra show emission bands associated with Te vacancies (V(Te)), whose intensities decrease as the oxygen proportion in the CSS chamber is increased. The oxygen impurities occupy Te vacancies and modify the surfaces states, improving the nonradiative process. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.