Scalable and efficient Sb2S3 thin-film solar cells fabricated by close space sublimation

• Published in: APL materials 2019-04, Vol.7 (4), p.041105-041105-6
• Main Authors: Guo, Liping, Zhang, Baiyu, Li, Shan, Zhang, Qian, Buettner, Michael, Li, Lin, Qian, Xiaofeng, Yan, Feng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2166-532X; 2166-532X
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5090773

Antimony sulfide as a cost-effective, low-toxic, and earth-abundant solar cell absorber with the desired bandgap was successfully deposited using a scalable close space sublimation technique. The deposition process can separately control the substrate and source temperature with better engineering of the absorber quality. The device performance can reach 3.8% with the configuration of glass/FTO/CdS/Sb2S3/graphite back contact. The defect formation energy and the corresponding transition levels were investigated in detail using theoretical calculations. Our results suggest that Sb2S3 exhibits intrinsic p-type owing to S-on-Sb antisites (SSb) and the device performance is limited by the S vacancies. The localized conduction characterization at nanoscale shows that the non-cubic Sb2S3 has conductive grains and benign grain boundaries. The study of the defects, microstructure, and nanoscale conduction behavior suggests that Sb2S3 could be a promising photovoltaic candidate for scalable manufacturing.