A software tool to determine optical constants in thin film solar cell

Abstract

In this work, it was developed a software tool that allows determining the optical properties of semiconductor materials, this tool is useful for researchers working on the characterization of semiconductor thin films. The software calculates the optical constants: index of refraction (n), coefficient of absorption (α) and prohibited energy gap (Gap), in addition to the approximate thickness of the film; with the developed program were calculated optical constants of thin films of ZnS, SnS:Bi, and SnS2:Bi, which are used as buffer layers and absorbers in solar cells, this paper presents the results obtained with a SnS2:Bi film. The software was created in the Python programming language within a simple English-Spanish interface and in order to develop it, the method proposed by Swanepoel, based on the experimental transmittance spectrum of the semiconductor material, was taken into account.