Thin Film Solar Cell Devices Research Articles

Impact of nanoscale Cu (I) precursors prepared by solution process on large-area CdTe solar cells

In recent years, the study of Cu (Ӏ) precursors in high-performance CdTe thin-film solar cell devices has received increasing attention. However, few studies have been reported on nanoscale Cu (I) precursors in large-area CdTe devices (≥1 cm2). Here, three different Cu (Ӏ) nano precursors have been rapidly prepared by solution method (CuCl ethanol solution, CuI acetonitrile solution, and CuSCN aqueous ammonia solution) and their effects on the performance of commercial large-area CdTe thin-film solar cells have been investigated. The results show that the distribution amount and uniformity of the nano precursor particles on the CdTe back surface have a large impact on the device performance. The CuCl nanoparticles are more uniformly distributed and the device performance is more excellent. CuI nanoparticles easily formed clusters at grain boundaries. Denser distribution of CuSCN nanoparticles. The thermal diffusion conditions (temperature, time and precursor concentration) have a significant effect on the device performance, but the most reasonable thermal diffusion conditions tend to be the same for all devices. This suggests that the thermal diffusion conditions are determined by the nature of the CdTe absorber layer itself and are not interfered by different nano precursors.

Fabrication of thin film solar cell based on CoO-CoS/P2-Amino-1-mercaptobenzene/polypyrrole with additional promising sensitivities to photons in a broad optical region

The production of a thin-film solar cell device, employing CoO-CoS/P2-Amino-1-mercaptobenzene/polypyrrole (CoO-CoS-P2AMB/Ppy), showcases enhanced sensitivity across a broad optical spectrum. This achievement is realized through a one-pot polymerization process involving 2-Amino-1-mercaptobenzene, Co(NO3)2, and K2S2O8. Notably, the polymerization reaction incorporates the inclusion of a Ppy seeding layer into the solution. To comprehensively characterize the synthesized materials, an array of analytical tools is employed. Subsequently, the CoO-CoS-P2AMB/Ppy device undergoes rigorous testing under diverse light conditions, including darkness, white light, and monochromatic light. These conditions aim to assess the device’s responsiveness to photons of varying energies, where the resulting current density (Jph) serves as an indicator of generated hot electrons and the overall efficiency of the fabricated device. At a potential of 2.0 V, the measured values for Jph and dark current (Jo) stand at 0.11 and 0.04 mA.cm−2, respectively. The solar cell characteristics are further evaluated through measured values for JSC (−0.01 μA.cm−2) and VOC (0.038 V), reflecting the device’s performance under solar testing conditions. In addition to its solar cell attributes, the device exhibits light-sensing behavior, quantified through calculated photoresponsivity (R) and detectivity (D) values. These values, obtained under various monochromatic lights, amount to 0.49 mA.W−1 and 1.1 × 108 Jones, respectively. The exceptional performance of the CoO-CoS-P2AMB/Ppy thin-film solar cell device, coupled with its light-sensing capabilities, positions the device as a promising candidate for commercial applications. Its potential extends to the fabrication of cost-effective thin-film sensing devices, presenting opportunities for widespread utilization in various industries.

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

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.

Growth and Characterization of p-Type and n-Type Sb2Se3 for Use in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Solar Cell Devices

In this study, a two-electrode electrodeposition technique was employed to grow thin films of antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) on glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. The highest quality thin films were consistently obtained within the range of 1600 mV to 1950 mV. Subsequent electrodeposition experiments were conducted at discrete voltages to produce various layers of thin films. Photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurements were performed to characterize the semiconductor material layers, leading to the identification of both p-Type and n-Type conductivity types. Optical absorption spectroscopic analysis revealed energy bandgap values ranging from 1.10 eV to 1.90 eV for AD-deposited Sb2Se3 samples and 1.08 eV to 1.68 eV for heat-treated Sb2Se3 samples, confirming the semiconducting nature of the Sb2Se3 material. Additionally, other characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction analysis, reveal that the AD-deposited layers are almost amorphous, and heat treatment shows that the material is within the orthorhombic crystalline system. Heat-treated layers grown at ~1740 mV showed highly crystalline material with a bandgap nearing the bulk bandgap of Sb2Se3. Raman spectroscopy identified vibrational modes specific to the Sb2Se3 phase, further confirming its crystallinity. To explore the thin-film morphology, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was employed, revealing uniformly deposited material composed of grains of varying sizes at different voltages. Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) confirmed the presence of antimony and selenium in the material layers.

Back-surface electric field passivation of CdTe solar cells using sputter-deposited CdSe

CdTe back-surface passivation is one of the effective ways to enhance device performance. In recent years, the role of Se passivation in high performance CdSeTe thin film solar cell device has received increasing attention. However, current high-efficiency devices only have a considerable concentration of Se at the very front of the device, while most of the area on the back side of the absorber layer is not passivated by Se. This means that further efficiency improvements may be possible if more defects on the back surface of the absorber layer are passivated by Se, while maintaining the built-in field. Here, based on the magnetron sputtering process, chemical passivation and electric field passivation can be achieved when a small amount of CdSe is deposited on the CdTe back surface. When the CdSe thickness is ∼20 nm (Before annealing), the optimal cell current was increased from 23.8 mA/cm2 to 26 mA/cm2 and the efficiency was increased from 13.1% to 15.5%. External quantum efficiency and impedance spectroscopy measurements indicate that the performance improvement is due to the reduction of the interfacial recombination current on the back surface.

Regulation of solar cell performance by cadmium sulfide/copper-based thin film heterojunction annealing under different atmospheres

Efficient copper based thin film solar cells usually use inorganic n-type semiconductor material CdS as the buffer layer. Therefore, the interface quality and energy band matching between the buffer layer and the absorption layer are crucial to the collection and utilization of carriers. Heat treatment can promote the mutual diffusion of interface elements, the migration of ions in the material, and the change of defect state, and the appropriate temperature will change the Cu-Zn ordering degree in the absorption layer, so as to improve the efficiency of the solar cells. Based on the optimization of CdS basic process, the strategy of annealing CdS/copper-based thin film heterojunction in sulfur atmosphere further improves the quality of CdS thin film, and is applied to copper-based solar cells to regulate the p-n heterojunction energy band gap matching of copper-based thin film cells. The results show that the annealing of CdS thin film in sulfur-containing inert atmosphere can effectively improve the crystal quality of CdS thin film and inhibit the non-radiative recombination loss caused by defect trapping at the interface of CZTS/CdS heterojunction, and the open-circuit voltage of the device can significantly increase to 718 mV. In addition, annealing CZTS/CdS heterojunction in S/Ar atmosphere can effectively improve the p-n heterojunction energy band gap matching, which not only improves the electron transmission, but also reduces the carrier recombination, thus improving the <i>V</i><sub>oc</sub> and FF of the device. Besides, the oxygen element in CdS film can be replaced by sulfur element in sulfur atmosphere to improve the quality of CdS film, and thus enhancing the short-wave absorption of solar cell device. Therefore, in terms of device efficiency, the efficiency of CZTS solar cell based on sputtering method increases from 3.47% to 5.68%, which is about twice that of non-annealing treatment. Its device structure is Glass/Mo/CZTS/CdS/i-ZnO/Al:ZnO/Ni/Al, providing a reliable process window for copper based thin film solar cell devices to achieve high open-circuit voltage. Meanwhile, this study strongly demonstrates the importance of annealing atmosphere selection for CdS quality and energy band matching of CZTS/CdS heterojunction. In addition to interface interdiffusion, the composition and crystallinity of thin film material are controlled.

Hierarchically structured sub-bands in chalcopyrite thin-film solar cell devices

The study utilizes the inherent physiochemical properties of vanadium-incorporated copper gallium sulfide telluride (CuGa1−xVx(S,Te)2) thin films deposited via a chemical spray pyrolysis route and evokes how the art of intermediate band structuring favours the solar cell efficiency.

Characterization of Sb2Te3 thin films prepared by electrochemical technique

A conductive and thermally stable material with a high work function is required to produce highly efficient CdTe-based thin film solar cell (TFSC) devices. In this study, we report the growth of layers of polycrystalline, stoichiometric, and compact antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) by using the wet-chemical aqueous electrochemical technique. A three-electrode geometry consisting of a working electrode, a reference electrode, and a counter electrode was used to deposit the Sb2Te3 thin films at a low temperature (60 °C ± 2 °C). The growth potential was optimized through cyclic voltammetric measurements with reference to the Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The structural, morphological, compositional, and electrical properties of the films were studied and correlated. Their prominent Bragg reflections of (103), (016), and (110) verified the growth of the rhombohedral crystal structure of Sb2Te3. The Raman modes Eg and A1g, observed at 119.88 and 161.48 cm−1, respectively, confirmed the formation of the Sb2Te3 compound. Compact grain growth with a void-free and well-adherent layer was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The grain size, surface morphology, and thickness of the Sb2Te3 layers were significantly influenced by variations in the deposition potentials. An EDS analysis of the sample grown at −0.5 V revealed nearly stoichiometric growth (2:3, Sb:Te ratio). The elemental chemical states were studied through XPS analysis. The survey scan confirmed the presence of antimony, tellurium, oxygen, and carbon. The current–voltage characteristics reflected the nearly ohmic nature of the Sb2Te3 thin films. The ideality factor and carrier concentration obtained for the sample grown at −0.5 V exhibited nearly ohmic behaviors, with a high conductivity that was suitable for back-contact between the buffer layer and CdTe for the development of CdS/CdTe solar cells.

N-type SnS2 thin films spray-coated from transparent molecular ink as a non-toxic buffer layer for solar photovoltaics

This paper reports the effect of solvent evaporation temperature on spray-coated tin disulfide (SnS2) thin films from molecular ink. Thiourea and tin chloride were the key chemical reagents used for the synthesis of SnS2 transparent ink under atmospheric conditions. The structural and compositional properties of SnS2 thin films revealed formation of pristine hexagonal SnS2. The films are smooth, homogeneous resulting in band gaps ranging from 2 to 2.22 eV suited for a Cd-free alternative buffer layer for Cu-based multicomponent solar cells. Thermoelectric power measurement showed that tin disulfide films exhibit n-type conductivity. Activation energy estimated from temperature variation of electrical conductivity measurement varied from 40 to 90 mV. Our results suggest that ink-processed SnS2 can be used as a potential alternative for opto-electronic devices such as thin film solar cell and photodetector devices.

Numerical Analysis of a CZTS Solar Cell with MoS2 as a Buffer Layer and Graphene as a Transparent Conducting Oxide Layer for Enhanced Cell Performance.

Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) can be considered an important absorber layer material for utilization in thin film solar cell devices because of its non-toxic, earth abundance, and cost-effective properties. In this study, the effect of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as a buffer layer on the different parameters of CZTS-based solar cell devices was explored to design a highly efficient solar cell. While graphene is considered a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer for the superior quantum efficiency of CZTS thin film solar cells, MoS2 acts as a hole transport layer to offer electron–hole pair separation and an electron blocking layer to prevent recombination at the graphene/CZTS interface. This study proposed and analyzed a competent and economic CZTS solar cell structure (graphene/MoS2/CZTS/Ni) with MoS2 and graphene as the buffer and TCO layers, respectively, using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS)-1D. The proposed structure exhibited the following enhanced solar cell performance parameters: open-circuit voltage—0.8521 V, short-circuit current—25.3 mA cm−2, fill factor—84.76%, and efficiency—18.27%.

Lithium inserted ZnSnN2 thin films for solar absorber: n to p-type conversion

ZnSnN2 is a non-toxic and earth-abundant photoabsorber material for flexible photovoltaic devices because of its excellent optoelectronic behavior. However, theoretical studies show that the alkaline-earth metallic (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr) dopants in ZnSnN2, particularly lithium (Li), display shallow-acceptor behavior and improve the performance of ZnSnN2 semiconductors. Orthorhombic phase structure with (002) preferred orientation was observed for Li-doped films and the lattice parameters agree well with reported standards. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis revealed the incorporation of Li in Li:ZnSnN2 films. XPS, the density of states, and Born effective charge analysis revealed the chemical bonding states of Li–ZnSnN2. In contrast to the pristine n-type ZnSnN2, Li:ZnSnN2 thin films showed conductivity with p-type hole concentrations varying between 1.14 × 1020–9.47 × 1019 cm−3 and the highest mobility of 20.03 cm2V−1s−1. Therefore, we obtained p-type conductivity by substituting an organolithium reagent (C₄H₉Li) on the Zn site, which highlights that Li:ZnSnN2 can be effectively used as the photoanode layer for next-generation thin-film solar cell devices.

Processing of Lead Halide Perovskite Thin Films Studied with In-Situ Real-Time X-ray Scattering.

Lead halide perovskites have been of paramount interest for solution-processable solar cells, reaching power conversion efficiencies larger than 25%. In this spotlight, we will provide a systematic overview of the influence of different solution-based processing routes of lead halide perovskites on their phase transformation and conversion as revealed through in-situ X-ray-scattering experiments. These experiments were performed in conditions closely mimicking thin film processing methods and conditions used for thin film solar cell device fabrication and therefore provide critical information about the mechanism of the phase transformation, its onset, the kinetics, as well as the emergence and disappearance of various (meso)phases along the way. The measurements capture the overall solidification and conversion process of lead halide perovskite inks into solid films via so-called one-step and two-step spin-coating processes as well as blade coating and hot casting. Processing routes are applied to films based on basic components as well as mixtures of different anions and cations, solvents, and antisolvents, all of which deeply affect the thin film microstructure and morphology of the light-absorbing semiconductor and associated solar cell devices.

Investigations on the effect of buffer layer on CMTS based thin film solar cell using SCAPS 1-D

Research in the field of thin film photovoltaic has been stimulated because of the low production cost and less material consumption and it has been accelerating after the exploration of chalcogenide materials viz. CIS, CIGS, CdTe and CZTS. But, toxicity of Cadmium, high cost of Indium and Gallium and plenty of barriers in improvement of efficiency in case of CZTS gave rise to research in similar and less explored chalcogenide materials and candidate material among them. Copper Manganese Tin Sulphide (CMTS) is one of the promising chalcogenide materials for development of low-cost, thin-film solar cells. However, being a new material, there are not many reports on the optimisation of device structure for this materials system. Particularly there is no systematic studies on the material-compatibility as far as the buffer layer is concerned for the CMTS based solar cell. In this work, we studied the effect of the buffer layer (CdS, Zn(O,S) and SnS2) on the performance of the CMTS based thin film solar cell device by using SCAPS 1-D simulation. We report that the device with SnS2 as a buffer layer shows comparatively high power conversion efficiency, that is 20.26%. Subsquently, the device structure of CMTS solar cell with SnS2 buffer layer was optimized for various physical parameters, viz. Thickness of the absorber and buffer layer, acceptor density of the absorber layer, donor density of the buffer (SnS2) layer, and the defect density. These results could be helpful in designing and experimentally implementing the CMTS based low-cost thin-film solar cell with Cd-free buffer layer.

Revisiting the Cu-Zn Disorder in Kesterite Type Cu2ZnSnSe4 Employing a Novel Approach to Hybrid Functional Calculations

In recent years, the search for more efficient and environmentally friendly materials to be employed in the next generation of thin film solar cell devices has seen a shift towards hybrid halide perovskites and chalcogenide materials crystallising in the kesterite crystal structure. Prime examples for the latter are Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4, and their solid solution Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1−x)4, where actual devices already demonstrated power conversion efficiencies of about 13 %. However, in their naturally occurring kesterite crystal structure, the so-called Cu-Zn disorder plays an important role and impacts the structural, electronic, and optical properties. To understand the influence of Cu-Zn disorder, we perform first-principles calculations based on density functional theory combined with special quasirandom structures to accurately model the cation disorder. Since the electronic band gaps and derived optical properties are severely underestimated by (semi)local exchange and correlation functionals, supplementary hybrid functional calculations have been performed. Concerning the latter, we additionally employ a recently devised technique to speed up structural relaxations for hybrid functional calculations. Our calculations show that the Cu-Zn disorder leads to a slight increase in the unit cell volume compared to the conventional kesterite structure showing full cation order, and that the band gap gets reduced by about 0.2 eV, which is in very good agreement with earlier experimental and theoretical findings. Our detailed results on structural, electronic, and optical properties will be discussed with respect to available experimental data, and will provide further insights into the atomistic origin of the disorder-induced band gap lowering in these promising kesterite type materials.

Effect of RF sputter power on deposition of CZTX (X[dbnd]S, Se) active layer without selenization/sulfurization, for solar cell applications

Copper Zinc Tin Selenide Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) and Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited from a multicomponent single target with different RF sputter powers and a constant annealing temperature of 450°C. One step deposition with in-situ annealing was performed in order to avoid the individual metal losses during the process. Effects of various deposition parameters were investigated to finely control the elemental ratio of the quaternary target which in-turn helps to obtain the desired stoichiometry suitable for solar absorber materials as confirmed from EDS analysis. The phase purity of thin films was investigated and confirmed using XRD and Raman spectroscopy. A thin film solar cell device with n-CdS, ZnO, ZnO:Al layers and Al grids over the prepared kesterite CZTX (X = S, Se) films were deposited on Mo coated soda lime glass using complete vacuum deposition technique. Even though the optical, electrical and structural results are promising, the conversion efficiency for these single step processed CZTSe and CZTS solar cell devices were limited to 3.72% and 2.6% due to possible interface effect and smaller grain size of the deposited films. Considering the industrial fabrication of kesterite thin film solar cells, this processes assures an environmental friendly approach with inherent purity leading to one-step reduction in the mass production process.

Theoretical modeling and optimization: Cd-free CTS/Zn(O,S)/ZnO thin film solar cell

Latterly Zn(O, S) has gained utmost attention as an eco-friendly buffer layer with controllable energy levels for high-performance thin-film solar cell (TFSCs) devices. The article discusses that the conventional detrimental Cd-containing buffer is replaced by the non-toxic Zn(O,S) buffer and yielded a comparable high efficiency. Using SCAPS software, the modeling and numerical simulations of the CTS based solar cell are systematically analyzed. Detail investigations of the band alignment between the CTS absorber and Zn(O, S) buffer layer has been studied as a function of the S/(S+O) ratio along with the effects of thickness, carrier concentration, defect density of buffer layer and absorber layer with interface defect density. The final optimized results of p-CTS/Zn(O,S)/n-ZnO/Al heterojunction revealed that the obtained figure of merit value is comparably high (ɳ=13.65%, VOC = 0.3802 V, JSC = 48.33 mA/cm2, and FF = 74.45%) than the previously reported values. All in all, the present study suggests that Zn(O, S) can be a suitable alternative candidate for the CdS-buffer layer in a CTS-based solar cell.

Impact of metallic potassium post-deposition treatment on epitaxial Cu(In,Ga)Se2

Alkali post-deposition treatments (PDTs) of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) absorbers are known to improve the power conversion efficiency of the thin-film solar cell devices. The PDTs are usually carried out via evaporation of alkali fluorides in a selenium atmosphere onto a hot substrate. In this work, an alkali metal dispenser was used to evaporate pure metallic potassium onto epitaxial CIGSe absorbers. Subsequently, the absorber layers were heated in-situ to monitor chemical reactions and diffusion into the bulk. Due to the absence of grain boundaries, fluorine, and selenium, the effect of K on CIGSe absorber properties can be directly monitored. We find that potassium effectively diffuses into the bulk of epitaxial CIGSe absorber layers. The diffusion depends on the Cu-content of the CIGSe absorbers, in which Cu-depleted films present higher diffusion rates of K. Photoluminescence (PL) imaging corroborates that K in the bulk of the CIGSe absorber increases the PL yield, suggesting a passivation of defects or an increase in doping. This work highlights that alkali PDTs are not limited by interface and grain boundary modifications but also changes the absorber bulk properties, which needs to be taken into account.

Optoelectronic properties of solar cell materials based on copper-zinc-tin-sulfide Cu2ZnSn(SxTe1-x)4 alloys for photovoltaic device applications

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), a quaternary material formed of Earth-abundant elements, is promising in thin-film solar cell devices, as absorbing layer. The high efficiency of solar energy conversion (>12%) recorded in chalcogen-doped Cu2ZnSnS4 renders it an attractive material for the analysis of the structural stability, electronic band structures, and optical characteristics of Cu2ZnSn(SxTe1-x)4 alloys (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) by first-principles calculations. By employing full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave (FP-LAPW) methodology, the acquired results indicate that CZTS and Cu2ZnSnTe4 (CZTTe) parent compounds possess wide and narrow direct band gaps, respectively. The optical characteristics of Cu2ZnSn(SxTe1-x)4 alloys and their bulk counterparts were computed in terms of the complex dielectric function, which allows the examination of the optical absorption, reflectivity, and refractive index of these ultimate alloys. It is inferred that the S/Te compositional ratio in Cu2ZnSn(SxTe1-x)4 has a significant influence on the optical absorption of electromagnetic radiation in the visible to the infrared (IR) regimes. Our results indicate that the increase of Te concentration leads to a red shift of the major feature peaks in the optical absorption spectra. Because of their direct band gap and remarkable optical absorption, Cu2ZnSn(SxTe1-x)4 alloys with S/Te compositional ratios under 0.5 could be useful materials in thin-film solar cell devices, as absorbing layers. This theoretical report is expected to provide relevant information for future experimental works involving the design of novel solar cell materials based on CZTST systems.

Efficiency boost of CZTS solar cells based on double-absorber architecture: Device modeling and analysis

In this study, we present a new alternative approach that utilizes Si as a second absorber along with the primary CZTS absorber to improve all photovoltaics performance parameters for CZTS based thin-film solar cell devices. The proposed ZnO:Al/CdS/CZTS/Si/Mo with a double-absorber hybrid structure has been extensively investigated and analyzed by employing the SCAPS-1D simulation package. Initial direct integration of a thin Si layer with thickness as low as 200 nm between the Mo back-contact and the primary CZTS active layer has resulted in a significant efficiency boost of 16.32%. Further optimization of several material parameters such as thickness, bandgap energy, and doping concentration for both absorbers have resulted in additional enhancement of many photovoltaic performance parameters such as the FF, Jsc, Voc, and PCE. The correlation study between the two absorbers suggests that maximum efficiency of 19.40%, FF of 88.54%, Voc of 0.84 V and JSC of 27.55 mA/cm2 can be attained at absorbers thicknesses of about 2 µm and high doping level up to 1018 cm−3. This can be attributed to the generation of more charge carriers with the increase of absorbers thicknesses. Additionally, the proposed model shows a stable performance with the rise of the operating temperature up to 350 K. Adding Si layer to the cell structure has resulted in pronounced quantum efficiency (QE) improvement due to the increase of solar spectrum absorption at longer wavelengths. A significant improvement in I-V characteristics was also detected with the decrease of the double-absorber structure's series resistance compared to the conventional single-absorber CZTS structure. The outcomes of this study represent a promising solution toward the fabrication of high-performance and cost-effective thin CZTS solar cell devices.

Tuning the properties of RF sputtered tin sulphide thin films and enhanced performance in RF sputtered SnS thin films hetero-junction solar cell devices

Abstract Tin sulphide (SnS) thin films were grown using the RF sputtering techniques. The working pressures (WP) were tuned between 0.70 and 4.00 Pa at fixed RF power of 100 W and deposition time of 2 min. X-ray diffractometry studies indicate that the films crystallized in the orthorhombic crystal structure and were single phase. The crystallite size increased up to a critical working pressure of 1.33 Pa and decreased thereafter with increased WP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that the films exhibit columnar grain structures. Energy dispersive spectroscopy indicates that the films are slightly Sn-rich. Transmittance and reflectance plots exhibits interference pattern, an indication that the films were of uniform thickness. Analysis from the optical data gives optical absorption coefficient (α) > 104 cm−1, and direct energy bandgap that exhibits relative decrease with the deposition conditions. Electrical studies from Hall effect measurements indicates that the films possess p-type electrical conductivity, and carrier concentration of 1016 cm−3 for films grown at WP of 1.33 Pa. The RF sputtered SnS thin films grown on Mo-substrates served as absorber layers to fabricate thin film hetero-junction solar cell devices in the substrate configuration with a cadmium sulphide (CdS) window partner. The best device yielded a short circuit current density of 25.94 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage of 0.087 V and an enhanced solar conversion efficiency of 0.60%. A world record value for RF-sputtered SnS/CdS based hetero-junction thin film solar cell devices.