Optoelectrical properties of the ternary chalcogenide SnSb2S5 as a new absorber layer for photovoltaic application

Abstract

A new material, tin antimony sulfide (SnSb2S5) thin films, considering different thicknesses (200 nm, 312 nm and 431 nm), were obtained by thermal evaporation onto a glass substrate. The films were studied electrically (I–V dependence) and optically to highlight their properties as photoanodes in thin film photovoltaic devices. The I–V characteristic curves showed n-type semiconductor samples with an electrical conductivity of 10−3(ohm cm)−1 under white light excitation. The values of the absorption coefficient (α) and extinction coefficient (K) were found to be enlarged by increasing the layer thickness. The SnSb2S5 films displayed a high absorption coefficient of 105 cm−1. The studied physical characterizations of tin antimony sulfide (SnSb2S5) samples showed interesting optical and electrical properties for good absorber layers in thin film solar cell devices.