Semiconductor thin films by chemical bath deposition for solar energy related applications

Abstract

In this paper we present the basic concepts underlying the chemical bath deposition technique and the recipes developed in our laboratory during the past ten years for the deposition of good-quality thin films of CdS, CdSe, ZnS, ZnSe, PbS, SnS, Bi S , Bi Se , Sb S , CuS, CuSe, etc. Typical growth curves, and optical and electrical properties of these films are presented. The effect of annealing the films in air on their structure and composition and on the electrical properties is notable: CdS and ZnS films become conductive through a partial conversion to oxide phase; CdSe becomes photosensitive, SnS converts to SnO , etc. The use of precipitates formed during deposition for screen printing and sintering, in polymer composites and as a source for vapor-phase deposition is presented. Some examples of the application of the films in solar energy related work are presented.1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural, electrical and optical properties of copper selenide thin films deposited by chemical bath deposition technique

“…The techniques adopted for deposition of this metal chalcogenide vary from reaction of metallic copper with selenium dissolved in a benzene medium [1] or an aqueous medium [2], flash evaporation [3], vacuum evaporation [4][5][6][7], melting of Cu and Se [8,9], and electrodeposition [10], to the simplest method of chemical bath deposition (CBD) [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Copper selenide exists in widely differing crystallographic structures depending on the method of preparation even at room temperature.…”

“…During the last two decades, less expensive methods, like chemical and electrochemical conversion, precipitation, ion displacement, electrodeposition and low temperature dip type for the preparation of copper selenide and their characterization have been reported by several authors [1, 2,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. CBD is a method of growing thin film of certain materials on a substrate immersed in an aqueous bath containing appropriate reagents at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 373K.…”

Integrated photonics for infrared spectroscopic sensing

“…Unlike other narrow-bandgap semiconductors which mandate epitaxially grown single crystals for device fabrication, the polycrystalline form of these chalcogenide semiconductors offer performance comparable or even superior compared to their single-crystalline counterparts due to a unique charge-separating mechanism at grain boundaries [48][49][50][51]. These polycrystalline chalcogenides can be readily deposited via chemical bath deposition [52,53] or thermal evaporation, facilitating monolithic integration of active mid-IR photonic devices on common semiconductor or dielectric substrates [54][55][56]. Our previous work has developed deposition and processing of these chalcogenide materials and fabrication protocols of photonic devices operating at near-IR telecommunication wave bands on silicon as well as unconventional substrates such as polymers [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68].…”

Improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells by photoanode surface modifications

“…CBD is a technique in which thin semiconductor films are immersed in dilute solutions containing metal ions and a source of hydroxide, sulfide, or selenide ions [80]. It is well suited for producing large-area thin films for solar energyrelated applications, and it has been extensively applied in quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells to synthesize quantum dots (QDs) of a CdS sensitizer [81,82].…”