Growth and characterization of tin sulphide thin films by chemical bath deposition using ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid as the complexing agent

• Published in: Thin solid films 2013-06, Vol.537, p.149-155
• Main Authors: Jayasree, Y., Chalapathi, U., Sundara Raja, V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Chemical bath deposition; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition; Diamines; Energy; Ethylene; Ethylene diamine tetra acitic acid; Exact sciences and technology; Lattice parameters; Liquid phase epitaxy; deposition from liquid phases (melts, solutions, and surface layers on liquids); Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Natural energy; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of specific thin films; Photovoltaic conversion; Physics; SnS; Solar cell absorber; Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells; Solar energy; Sulfides; Sulfur; Theory and models of film growth; Thin films; Tin
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2013.03.013

Tin sulphide (SnS), a promising, non-toxic and low-cost solar cell absorber layer, is grown using Chemical Bath Deposition technique at room temperature. The effects of concentration of ethlene diamine tetra-acetic acid, the complexing agent in the starting solution, as well as thioacetamide, the source of sulphur, on the growth of tin sulphide films are investigated to obtain single phase SnS films. The films deposited under optimized conditions are found to be near-stoichiometric, single phase SnS with orthorhombic structure. The lattice parameters are found to be a=0.428nm, b=1.141nm and c=0.396nm. The direct optical band gap of these films is found to be 1.55eV. •Growth of SnS, a potential solar cell absorber layer, by chemical bath deposition•Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as complexing agent for SnS film growth•Effect of EDTA concentration on the growth and properties of tin sulphide films•Effect of thioacetamide concentration on the growth and properties of films•X-ray diffraction and Raman Spectra studies for phase analysis