Nanosecond carrier lifetimes in solution-processed enargite (Cu3AsS4) thin films

Enargite (ENG) Cu3AsS4 is a promising material for photovoltaic applications due to its constituent earth abundant elements of differing ionic radii, ideal predicted optoelectronic properties, and demonstrated use in a working thin-film solar cell. However, little is known about ENG's defect pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2020-10, Vol.117 (16)
Main Authors: McClary, Scott A., Taheri, Mohammad M., Blach, Daria D., Pradhan, Apurva A., Li, Siming, Huang, Libai, Baxter, Jason B., Agrawal, Rakesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Carrier lifetime
Copper compounds
Enargite
Nanoparticles
Optoelectronics
Photoluminescence
Photovoltaic cells
Properties (attributes)
R&D
Research & development
Solar cells
Thin films
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Summary:Enargite (ENG) Cu3AsS4 is a promising material for photovoltaic applications due to its constituent earth abundant elements of differing ionic radii, ideal predicted optoelectronic properties, and demonstrated use in a working thin-film solar cell. However, little is known about ENG's defect properties; such knowledge is necessary to assess its potential for future use in high-efficiency devices. One indicator of a material's quality is its photogenerated carrier lifetime, which can be related to its bulk defect properties. Here, we use a combination of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence to assess carrier dynamics in ENG thin films processed from nanoparticle precursors. The Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) lifetimes are on the multi-nanosecond scale, which exceed those reported in more mature systems and represent promising values for a candidate photovoltaic material. These results suggest that ENG is worthy of further research and development effort with an eye toward future photovoltaic applications.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/5.0023246