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Sb2Se3 is a promising absorber material for photovoltaic cells because of its optimum band gap, strong optical absorption, simple phase and composition, and earth-abundant and nontoxic constituents. However, this material is rarely explored for photovoltaic application. Here we report Sb2Se3 solar cells fabricated from thermal evaporation. The rationale to choose thermal evaporation for Sb2Se3 film deposition was first discussed, followed by detailed characterization of Sb2Se3 film deposited onto FTO with different substrate temperatures. We then studied the optical absorption, photosensitivity, and band position of Sb2Se3 film, and finally a prototype photovoltaic device FTO/Sb2Se3/CdS/ZnO/ZnO:Al/Au was constructed, achieving an encouraging 2.1% solar conversion efficiency.

Physical and optical properties of binary amorphous selenium-antimony thin films

Sb2Se3 is a very promising absorber material for thin film photovoltaics because of its ideal band gap, strong optical absorption, and non-toxic and earth-abundant constituents. However, only until this year Sb2Se3 solar cell was reported. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of thermally evaporated superstrate CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cell. Our device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 1.9% (Voc = 300 mV, Jsc = 13.2 mA/cm2, and FF = 48%) and showed good stability. Moreover, using current-voltage measurement, admittance spectroscopy, capacitance-voltage profiling, and drive level capacitance profiling, device characteristics and performance limiting factors are revealed and discussed.

The obligate intracellular human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis undergoes a complex developmental program involving transition between two forms: the infectious elementary body (EB), and the rapidly dividing reticulate body (RB). However, the regulators controlling this development have not been identified. To uncover potential regulators of transcription in C. trachomatis, we screened a C. trachomatis genomic library for sequences encoding proteins that interact with RNA polymerase (RNAP). We report the identification of one such protein, CT663, which interacts with the b and s subunits of RNAP. Specifically, we show that CT663 interacts with the flap domain of the b subunit (b-flap) and conserved region 4 of the primary s subunit (s 66 in C. trachomatis). We find that CT663 inhibits s 66 -dependent (but not s 28 -dependent) transcription in vitro, and we present evidence that CT663 exerts this effect as a component of the RNAP holoenzyme. The analysis of C. trachomatis-infected cells reveals that CT663 begins to accumulate at the commencement of the RB-to-EB transition. Our findings suggest that CT663 functions as a negative regulator of s 66 -dependent transcription, facilitating a global change in gene expression. The strategy used here is generally applicable in cases where genetic tools are unavailable.[Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; RNA polymerase; CT663; b subunit; s factors; anti-s factors] Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

Thermal evaporation and characterization of superstrate CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cells Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 173904 (2014); 10.1063/1.4874878 Photoelectric performance of TiO 2 nanotube array photoelectrodes cosensitized with CdS/CdSe quantum dots Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 153104 (2010); 10.1063/1.3386525 Effect of internal surface area on the performance of Zn O ∕ In 2 S 3 ∕ Cu SCN solar cells with extremely thin absorber Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 153107 (2008);

Sb2Se3 has attracted great research interest very recently as a promising absorber material for thin film photovoltaics due to its suitable bandgap, high absorption coefficient, and non‐toxic, low cost, and earth abundant nature. In this work, a significant efficiency improvement to 4.8% of superstrate cadmium sulfide (CdS)/Sb2Se3 solar cells is obtained by the controlled addition of oxygen during thermal evaporation of Sb2Se3 films. Systematic materials and device physics characterization reveal that oxygen addition during Sb2Se3 film evaporation significantly improves the CdS/Sb2Se3 heterojunction quality through effective passivation of interfacial defect states, resulting in a substantial enhancement in device circuit voltage and short circuit current density. The 4.8% device is the highest efficiency thus far reported for Sb2Se3 thin film solar cells. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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