Abstract
Copper sulfide (CuS) thin films were deposited on a glass substrate at room temperature using the radio-frequency (RF) magnetron-sputtering method at RF powers in the range of 40–100 W, and the structural and optical properties of the CuS thin film were investigated. The CuS thin films fabricated at varying deposition powers all exhibited hexagonal crystalline structures and preferred growth orientation of the (110) plane. Raman spectra revealed a primary sharp and intense peak at the 474 cm−1 frequency, and a relatively wide peak was found at 265 cm−1 frequency. In the CuS thin film deposited at an RF power of 40 W, relatively small dense particles with small void spacing formed a smooth thin-film surface. As the power increased, it was observed that grain size and grain-boundary spacing increased in order. The binding energy peaks of Cu 2p3/2 and Cu 2p1/2 were observed at 932.1 and 952.0 eV, respectively. Regardless of deposition power, the difference in the Cu2+ state binding energies for all the CuS thin films was equivalent at 19.9 eV. We observed the binding energy peaks of S 2p3/2 and S 2p1/2 corresponding to the S2− state at 162.2 and 163.2 eV, respectively. The transmittance and band-gap energy in the visible spectral range showed decreasing trends as deposition power increased. For the CuS/tin sulfide (SnS) absorber-layer-based solar cell (glass/Mo/absorber(CuS/SnS)/cadmium sulfide (CdS)/intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO)/indium tin oxide (ITO)/aluminum (Al)) with a stacked structure of SnS thin films on top of the CuS layer deposited at 100 W RF power, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 115 mA, short circuit current density (Jsc) of 9.81 mA/cm2, fill factor (FF) of 35%, and highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.39% were recorded.
Highlights
Copper sulfide (CuS) is a transition metal chalcogenide in the IB-VIA group
For all copper sulfide sulfide (CuS) thin films grown using different power conditions, the preferred growth orientation for the (110) plane was observed, and the intensity of the primary diffraction peak increased as the power was increased from 40 to 100 W
The effects of sputtering powers on the structural, compositional, morphological, and optical properties of CuS thin films were investigated in detail
Summary
Copper sulfide (CuS) is a transition metal chalcogenide in the IB-VIA group. The material is a typical p-type semiconductor where holes are the major carrier, Cu 4s and S 3p hybridized states become the conduction-band minimum, and the Cu 3d and S 3p antibonding states become the valence-band maximum [1,2]. Radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, which is one of the physical vapor-deposition methods, employs simple equipment and can form a strong adhesive force between the as-sputtered thin films and the substrate It is low-cost and appropriate for large-scale industrial productions, features that increase its potential value in various industrial applications [13,14]. It is relatively easy to produce thin films with consistent properties and control the elemental composition Despite these aspects, only a few studies have been reported on the growth of pure covellite CuS thin films using RF magnetron sputtering, and research on the application of covellite CuS thin films as the absorber layer in photovoltaic devices is scarce
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