Development of indium (In) doped SnSe thin films for photovoltaic application

Abstract

The undoped and indium doped SnSe (In-SnSe) thin films were successfully prepared by the two-stage process (sputtering and rapid thermal annealing process). The physical properties of the prepared thin films were investigated. Crystallographic patterns of the undoped and doped SnSe thin films showed the single-phase orthorhombic-SnSe. The diffraction peaks slightly shifted towards the higher diffraction angles as well as Raman peaks also shifted towards higher Raman shift by doping of indium. Morphology of the In-SnSe films changed significantly by changing the indium percentage. The optical bandgap of SnSe and In-SnSe films was varied in between 1.06 eV and 1.50 eV, and the electrical properties of In-SnSe films were significantly changed with dopant concentration. The obtained physical properties of In-SnSe thin films are suitable for solar cell device fabrication.