Band alignment of Sb2O3 and Sb2Se3

Abstract

Antimony selenide (Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@1732384Secom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@7ddb6a7c) possesses great potential in the field of photovoltaics (PV) due to its suitable properties for use as a solar absorber and good prospects for scalability. Previous studies have reported the growth of a native antimony oxide (Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@78970f3Ocom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@7a934150) layer at the surface of Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@62642285Secom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@444a3c3f thin films during deposition and exposure to air, which can affect the contact between Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@808d2adSecom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@68718b3d and subsequent layers. In this study, photoemission techniques were utilized on both Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@2bc2ecbcSecom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@3e7c863f bulk crystals and thin films to investigate the band alignment between Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@70afa6e7Secom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@14e3e3ac and the Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@28784a80Ocom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@72ef7cce layer. By subtracting the valence band spectrum of an in situ cleaved Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@7f7a64eaSecom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@748f062a bulk crystal from that of the atmospherically contaminated bulk crystal, a valence band offset (VBO) of com.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@1e497e71 eV is measured between Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@17c9787aSecom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@3bb8035d and Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@378afc56Ocom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@6265b620. This result is supported by a com.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@3eb318be eV VBO measured between Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@456a46deOcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@25627a69 and Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@6af90c53Secom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@4ca98f5a thin films via the Kraut method. Both results indicate a straddling alignment that would oppose carrier extraction through the back contact of superstrate PV devices. This work yields greater insight into the band alignment of Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@5b627ca7Ocom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@6d65f490 at the surface of Sbcom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@4fdce6fbSecom.elsevier.xml.ani.Math@4f8f7305 films, which is crucial for improving the performance of these PV devices.