Determining the majority charge carrier, optical and structural properties of electrochemically deposited lead tin sulfide (PbSnS) thin films

Nkrumah, Isaac; Ampong, Francis Kofi; Britwum, A.; Paal, Mark; Kwakye-Awuah, Bright; Nkum, R.K.; Boakye, F.

doi:10.15251/cl.2023.203.205

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 28 publications

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“…These include: Rf sputtering, co-evaporation, hybrid sputtering, photochemical deposition, sulfurization of electrochemically deposited metallic precursors among others. However, electrodeposition has emerged as one of the versatile and costeffective growth technique of metal, metalloid and semiconductor materials [6,7]. Production of thin film semiconductors for photovoltaics using electrodeposition gives several advantages when compared to other methods of deposition: the technique is simple and is carried out using low cost apparatus, low operating temperature, and economical due to its low material wastage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The CZTS Thin Films Grown by Sulfurization of Electrodeposited Metallic Precursors: The Effect of Increasing Tin Content of the Metallic Precursors on the Structure, Morphology and Optical Properties of the Thin Films

Botchway,

Ampong,

Nkrumah

et al. 2023

East Eur. J. Phys.

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A study has been carried out to investigate the influence of the amount of Sn in the precursor solution, on some physical properties of CZTS films grown by sulfurization of electrodeposited metallic precursors. The growth of the CZTS samples was achieved by sequential electrodepositon of constituent metallic layers on ITO glass substrates using a 3-electrode electrochemical cell with graphite as a counter electrode and Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode. The Sn-content in the metallic precursor was varied by varying the deposition time of Sn. The stacked elemental layer was then soft annealed in Argon at 350 °C, and subsequently sulfurized at 550° C to grow the CZTS thin films. The structure, morphology and optical properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that, irrespective of the Sn content all the films were polycrystalline and exhibited the Kesterite CZTS structure with preferred orientation along the (112) plane. However, there was an increase in the amount of peaks indexed to the undesirable secondary phases, as the Sn content in metallic precursor was increased. Optical absorption measurements revealed the existence of a direct transition with band gap values decreasing from 1.74 eV to 1.25 eV with increasing amounts of Sn. The lower value for the band gap was attributed to the presence of secondary phases formed in addition to the CZTS film. Morphology of the sulfurized films showed a compact and rocky texture with good coverage across the entire substrate. However, CZTS films with a higher Sn content appeared to have a molten metallic surface with deep cracks which could have adverse effects on the electrical properties of the film. EDAX analysis showed all the films were consistent with the formation of CZTS. It is evident from all the characterization techniques that increasing the Sn content of the stacked metallic precursors beyond stoichiometric amounts had an adverse effect on the structural and optical properties of CZTS films grown by this technique.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The CZTS Thin Films Grown by Sulfurization of Electrodeposited Metallic Precursors: The Effect of Increasing Tin Content of the Metallic Precursors on the Structure, Morphology and Optical Properties of the Thin Films

Botchway,

Ampong,

Nkrumah

et al. 2023

East Eur. J. Phys.

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Passively harmonic mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers based on PbSnS2 saturable absorbers

Li,

Wang,

et al. 2024

Optical Materials

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The effect of the concentration of tin (Sn) in the metallic precursor, on the structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of electrochemically deposited lead-tin-sulphide (PbSnS) thin films

Nkrumah¹,

Ampong²,

Britwum³

et al. 2023

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A study has been carried out to investigate the effect of the concentration of Sn in the metallic precursor on the structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of PbSnS thin films. The films were directly electrodeposited on ITO-coated glass substrates using a 3-electrode electrochemical cell having graphite as the counter electrode and Ag/AgCl as the reference electrode. Several depositions were carried out, with each deposited film having a different concentration of Sn in the metallic precursor whilst all other parameters were kept constant for all the films. Post deposition annealing was carried out in air at 250 o C for an hour. A variety of techniques were used to characterize the films. Results showed that the increase in Sn concentration did not modify the structure and preferred orientation of the films. However, it caused a slight increase in the average grain size of the films and electrical conductivity. All the films showed direct transition with the optical band gap reducing with increasing Sn concentration. The refractive index of the films showed anomalous dispersion behaviour within the UV region, and normal dispersion in the visible and infrared regions, whilst following an increasing trend with the grain size. SEM image showed spherically shaped grains of different sizes distributed randomly with good coverage across the entire area of the substrate. The EDAX spectrum was consistent with formation of the ternary PbSnS compound on ITO-coated glass substrate. Overall results indicate that, the optical and electrical properties of the electrochemically deposited PbSnS thin films can be tuned to make them suitable for specific applications by varying the concentration of Sn in the metallic precursor.

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Determining the majority charge carrier, optical and structural properties of electrochemically deposited lead tin sulfide (PbSnS) thin films

Cited by 4 publications

References 28 publications

The CZTS Thin Films Grown by Sulfurization of Electrodeposited Metallic Precursors: The Effect of Increasing Tin Content of the Metallic Precursors on the Structure, Morphology and Optical Properties of the Thin Films

The CZTS Thin Films Grown by Sulfurization of Electrodeposited Metallic Precursors: The Effect of Increasing Tin Content of the Metallic Precursors on the Structure, Morphology and Optical Properties of the Thin Films

Passively harmonic mode-locked erbium-doped fiber lasers based on PbSnS2 saturable absorbers

The effect of the concentration of tin (Sn) in the metallic precursor, on the structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of electrochemically deposited lead-tin-sulphide (PbSnS) thin films

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