Investigations on Fe doped SnS thin films by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique for solar cell applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2019-04, Vol.30 (8), p.8024-8034
• Main Authors: Sebastian, S., Kulandaisamy, I., Valanarasu, S., Soundaram, N., Paulraj, K., Vikraman, Dhanasekaran, Kim, Hyun-Seok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Carrier density; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystal structure; Diffraction patterns; Doping; Emission spectra; Iron; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photovoltaic cells; Raman spectra; Solar cells; Spray pyrolysis; Substrates; Thin films; Titanium nitride; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-019-01124-3

Undoped and different concentrations of iron (Fe) doped tin sulphide (SnS) thin films were coated by nebulizer spray pyrolysis method with the substrate temperature of 350 °C. Polycrystalline nature of orthorhombic crystal structured pure and Fe doped SnS (Fe:SnS) thin films confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Structural studies further explored the preferential orientation of (201) plane for undoped SnS and their shifts to (400) and (111) directions for Fe:SnS at 6 and 10 wt.% of Fe concentration, respectively. The versatile route of structural modification has obviously demonstrated due to inclusion of Fe doping in SnS. Raman spectra further confirmed the structural variation of Fe:SnS. Topological variations obviously explained by atomic force microscopy images for pure and Fe:SnS. Optical results evidently claimed the deterioration of band gap values from 1.96 to 1.58 eV due to increase of Fe doping concentrations from 0 to 10 wt.%, respectively. Luminescence spectra showed a strong emission peak centered at 772 nm and low resistivity 3.32 × 10 −2  Ω cm with the high carrier concentration for 8 wt.% of Fe concentration using prepared Fe:SnS film. The fabricated solar cell device with n-CdS exposed the 0.18% of efficiency for p-Fe:SnS prepared using 8 wt.% Fe concentration.