Influence of substrate temperature on properties of pyrite thin films deposited using a sequential coevaporation technique

Imaging the Kirkendall effect in pyrite (FeS2) thin films: Cross-sectional microstructure and chemical features

“…The most promising of these sources is the solar one, which may be directly converted into electric energy by solar cells made from photovoltaic materials in different configurations [1] . In this context, pyrite (FeS 2 ) has recently recovered the researchers' attention [1][2][3][4][5] due to the abundance of its elements, its environmental goodness and the possibility to synthesize pyrite thin films, single crystals and nanostructures [6][7][8][9]. In addition, pyrite is considered a very promising material for solar energy conversion processes due to its very convenient bandgap (0.9-1.0 eV [10,11]) and high optical absorption coefficient (α~10 5 cm −1 ) in a significant part of the solar radiation spectrum, what would allow to design very thin photovoltaic devices.…”

“…Thus, different temperatures, reaction times, initial precursors, etc., will determine some of the characteristics (stoichiometric relationships, purity of the pretended phase, type and density of particular defects or crystallization features) of the synthesized material. According to the existing literature, pyrite thin films show an appreciable variety of properties depending on the method used to grow them: sulfuration of iron thin films [3][4][5]14,15,25], chemical vapor deposition [26][27][28][29], sputtering [30,31], flash evaporation [11], spray pyrolysis [32], molecular ink-based techniques [33], hydrothermal processes [2], or electrodeposition [34]. In spite of the easiness to synthesize pyrite thin films, the details of their formation mechanism are not yet fully explained.…”

Composition engineering of AZO films for controlled photon–electron conversion and ultrafast nonlinear optical behavior

“…Higher sputtering power and substrate temperature can provide sufficient kinetic energy for sputtered atoms, which lead to easier movement to the lowest point of the thermodynamic lattice and higher crystallinity. [47][48][49] The working pressure was maintained at 2.0 pa. The DC power was set to 0 W, 2 W, 6 W, and 10 W, which was used to study the effects of different Al doping amounts on the structure and optical behavior of ZnO films.…”

Iron Pyrite in Photovoltaics: A Review on Recent Trends and Challenges

“…Walimbe et al used sequential evaporation method in a setup shown in Figure a under high-vacuum environments to deposit pyrite onto a silicon substrate in a layer-by-layer fashion (Figure b). Postsulfurization at various temperatures helped achieving a phase-pure pyrite, which exhibited a granular structure with a (100) orientation and no existence of marcasite with a temperature of 420 °C to be the optimum one in achieving suitable properties . Similarly, Morales et al also used evaporation and a postsulfurization method, in which they grew pyrite films onto a soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate.…”