journal article·2023-02-02Open access

Sb2Se3 Polycrystalline Thin Films Grown on Different Window Layers

Stefano Pasini, Donato Spoltore, Antonella Parisini, Gianluca Foti, Stefano Marchionna, Salvatore Vantaggio, Roberto Fornari, Alessio Bosio

Coatings· Volume 13· Issue 2

Abstract

Sb2Se3 is a typical V2VI3 binary chalcogenide compound characterized by a single crystalline phase and a fixed composition. Sb2Se3 displays a narrow energy gap ranging from 1.1 to 1.3 eV, which are quite optimal values for single-junction solar cells. Earth-abundant and non-toxic components make this material a good candidate for low-cost thin-film solar cells. In substrate configuration, a world record efficiency of 9.2% was recently obtained. Sb2Se3 thin films exhibit an accentuated predisposition to form (Sb4Se6)n ribbons along the [001] direction. This anisotropy heavily influences the charge transport of the photogenerated carriers. In this work, structural characterization of the Sb2Se3 films showed that the crystalline quality and preferential orientation are strongly dependent on the window layer used. To better understand the growth mechanism, Sb2Se3 thin films were deposited by close-spaced sublimation on five different window layers, such as CdS, CdS:F, CdSe, As2S3, and ZnCdS. Sb2Se3-based solar cells, realized in superstrate configuration on these different substrates, evidently demonstrate the influence of the Sb2Se3 preferential orientation on the photovoltaic parameters.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films · Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties · Perovskite Materials and Applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Science, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy

Ricerca Sistema Energetico-RSE Spa, 20134 Milano, Italy

Funding

Research Fund for the Italian Electrical System

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