Characterization of tin (II) sulphide thin film synthesized by successive chemical solution deposition

Abstract

In the present work, tin (II) sulphide (SnS) thin films were grown on glass substrate by successive chemical solution deposition method using ammonium sulphide as anionic precursor solutions. Characterization techniques of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray were utilized to study the microstructure of the films. Energy-dispersive x-ray confirmed formation of nearly stoichiometric film with slight excess of tin under optimized deposition conditions. Particle size estimated from Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data using MAUD software was ~41 nm which compared well with field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements. The value of the energy gap of ~1.51 eV was found to be near the optimum needs for photovoltaic solar energy conversion (1.5 eV) with high absorption in the visible region. An enhancement in energy gap was observed for tin-enriched films.