Investigation of Structural, Optical and Photovoltaic Properties of Sb2S3 Thin Films

Abstract

Sb 2 S 3 thin films were prepared on amorphous glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) at room temperature.  The Sb 2 S 3 thin films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy.  The XRD revealed that the as deposited Sb 2 S 3 thin film has a different structure compared to annealed Sb 2 S 3 thin film. As deposited Sb 2 S 3 thin film showed amorphous structures while the Sb 2 S 3 thin film became polycrystalline after annealing at 350 0 C for 1h under N 2 .  The band gaps of the Sb 2 S 3 thin films were compared using UV-Vis spectroscopy.  The spectral response of the Sb 2 S 3 thin film enhanced after the annealing process. The Sb 2 S 3 thin films were subsequently used to make semiconductor-sensitized TiO 2 nanowire (NW) solar cells.  The performances of the solar cells, with the short circuit current density and open circuit voltage, were investigated. Based on the optical and photovoltaic measurements, we consider that annealed Sb 2 S 3 thin films can be promising materials for developing solar cell technologies.