Sulfurization Growth of SnS Thin Films and Experimental Determination of Valence Band Discontinuity for SnS-Related Solar Cells

Sugiyama, Mutsumi; Murata, Yoshihisa; Shimizu, Tomoe; Ramya, K; Venkataiah, Chinna; Sato, Tomoaki; Reddy, K.T. Ramakrishna

doi:10.7567/jjap.50.05fh03

Cited by 16 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Most work agrees that orthorhombic SnS has a direct optical bandgap of 1.30–1.43 eV, − while older work and a recent theoretical study advocate an indirect bandgap at 1.07 eV . Regardless, all investigations agree on an effective optical absorption onset around 1.4 eV, which coincides with the optimum band gap for maximum efficiency according to the Shockley–Queisser limit within the AM 1.5 solar spectrum .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃

2012

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The various phases of tin sulfide have been studied as semiconductors since the 1960s and are now being investigated as potential earth-abundant photovoltaic and photocatalytic materials. Of particular note is the recent isolation of zincblende SnS in particles and thin-films. Herein, first-principles calculations are employed to better understand this novel geometry and its place within the tin sulfide multiphasic system. We report the enthalpies of formation for the known phases of SnS, SnS2, and Sn2S3, with good agreement between theory and experiment for the ground-state structures of each. While theoretical X-ray diffraction patterns do agree with the assignment of the zincblende phase demonstrated in the literature, the structure is not stable close to the lattice parameters observed experimentally, exhibiting an unfeasibly large pressure and a formation enthalpy much higher than any other phase. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal spontaneous degradation to an amorphous phase much lower in energy, as Sn(II) is inherently unstable in a regular tetrahedral environment. We conclude that the known rocksalt phase of SnS has been mis-assigned as zincblende in the recent literature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃

2012

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“…The energy band diagrams estimated for the different heterostructures fabricated in this work and for those of heterostructures previously developed from other n-type layers (conventional CdS and Mg 0.2 Zn 0.8 O) examined by XPS [25][26][27] are summarized in Fig. 3.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental determination of band offsets of NiO-based thin film heterojunctions

Kawade

Chichibu

Sugiyama

2014

Journal of Applied Physics

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The energy band diagrams of NiO-based solar cell structures that use various n-type oxide semiconductors such as ZnO, Mg 0.3 Zn 0.7 O, Zn 0.5 Sn 0.5 O, In 2 O 3 :Sn (ITO), SnO 2 , and TiO 2 were evaluated by photoelectron yield spectroscopy. The valence band discontinuities were estimated to be 1.6 eV for ZnO/NiO and Mg 0.3 Zn 0.7 O/NiO, 1.7 eV for Zn 0.5 Sn 0.5 O/NiO and ITO/NiO, and 1.8 eV for SnO 2 /NiO and TiO 2 /NiO heterojunctions. By using the valence band discontinuity values and corresponding energy bandgaps of the layers, energy band diagrams were developed. Judging from the band diagram, an appropriate solar cell consisting of p-type NiO and n-type ZnO layers was deposited on ITO, and a slight but noticeable photovoltaic effect was obtained with an open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 0.96 V, short circuit current density (J sc ) of 2.2 lA/cm 2 , and fill factor of 0.44. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.

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“…Although α-SnS is an indirect semiconductor, it possesses a direct band gap (∼1.3 eV), with a slightly higher energy than the indirect band gap (∼1.1 eV), and exhibits a high optical absorption coefficient of over 10 4 cm −1 at the band edge (figure 1(b)) [5]. Because SnS is composed of non-toxic and abundant elements [6], SnS solar cells are expected to be safe and inexpensive energy sources. Figure 1(c) shows the estimated material costs of the absorber layers required to fabricate a 1 GW module (left axis) and the number of possible 1 GW modules that can be manufactured based on the estimated global reserves of the most limiting element (right axis), assuming a 20% conversion efficiency [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current status of n-type SnS: paving the way for SnS homojunction solar cells

et al. 2022

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Orthorhombic SnS is a promising thin-film solar-cell material composed of safe and abundant elements with suitable optical properties for photovoltaic application. For approximately two decades, SnS solar cells have employed heterojunction structures with p-type SnS and other n-type semiconductors because undoped SnS typically exhibits p-type electrical conduction. However, their conversion efficiency has remained stagnant at 4–5% for a long time. A breakthrough is required to significantly improve their conversion efficiencies before SnS solar cells can be put into practical use. Therefore, this comprehensive review article establishes the current state of the art in SnS solar cells, with an aim to accelerate both fundamental research and practical applications in this field. We discuss issues specific to SnS heterojunction solar cells, the advantages of the homojunction structure, and summarize recent advances in the n-type conversion of SnS by impurity doping, which is required to form a homojunction. The latter half of this article describes the latest research on the fabrication of n-type single crystals and films of halogen-doped n-type SnS, which is prepared via a doping system suitable for practical use. We conclude the article by summarizing the current status and future work on SnS homojunction devices, including the development of high-efficiency multi-junction SnS solar cells by band gap engineering.

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Sulfurization Growth of SnS Thin Films and Experimental Determination of Valence Band Discontinuity for SnS-Related Solar Cells

Cited by 16 publications

References 14 publications

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃

Experimental determination of band offsets of NiO-based thin film heterojunctions

Current status of n-type SnS: paving the way for SnS homojunction solar cells

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Sulfurization Growth of SnS Thin Films and Experimental Determination of Valence Band Discontinuity for SnS-Related Solar Cells

Cited by 16 publications

References 14 publications

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS2, and Sn2S3

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS2, and Sn2S3

Experimental determination of band offsets of NiO-based thin film heterojunctions

Current status of n-type SnS: paving the way for SnS homojunction solar cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃

Phase Stability of the Earth-Abundant Tin Sulfides SnS, SnS₂, and Sn₂S₃