Investigation of structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnS thin films prepared by nebulized spray pyrolysis for solar cell applications

Abstract

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films have been deposited on microscopic glass and fluorine doped tin oxide substrates by nebulized spray pyrolysis technique with different substrate temperature and molar concentration. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the prepared ZnS thin films have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FESEM), UV–Vis spectrophotometer and Hall effect measurement. XRD patterns confirm that the prepared films are hexagonal wurtzite structure, with (100) as preferred orientation. The structural parameters such as crystallite size, dislocation density and microstrain have been calculated from XRD study. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic nature is revealed by contact angle measurements. FESEM image of the ZnS thin films show smooth and uniform spherical grains are uniformly arranged on the films surface. Optical transmittance spectrum illustrate that the ZnS films were high transparent in the visible region and gets absorbed in the UV region. The optical band gap value of the ZnS thin films decreased with the increasing substrate temperature. The average transmittance is found to be 82% and direct band gap value is 3.56 eV at 400 °C for set D. The Activation energy of the prepared ZnS films was determined from the graph between ln (ρ) versus temperature (K−1) using a four-probe method.