Optimization of Sulfide Annealing Conditions for Ag[sub.8]SnS[sub.6] Thin Films

Ag[sub.8]SnS[sub.6] (ATS) has been reported to have a band gap of 1.33 eV and is expected to be a suitable material for the light-absorbing layers of compound thin-film solar cells. However, studies on solar cells that use ATS are currently lacking. The objective of this study is to obtain high-qual...

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Published inMaterials Vol. 16; no. 18
Main Authors Munekata, Ryuki, Uchimura, Tomohiro, Araki, Hideaki, Kanai, Ayaka, Tanaka, Kunihiko, Okamoto, Tomoichiro, Akaki, Yoji
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published MDPI AG 01.09.2023
Subjects
Annealing
Dielectric films
Sulfides
Thin films
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Summary:Ag[sub.8]SnS[sub.6] (ATS) has been reported to have a band gap of 1.33 eV and is expected to be a suitable material for the light-absorbing layers of compound thin-film solar cells. However, studies on solar cells that use ATS are currently lacking. The objective of this study is to obtain high-quality ATS thin films for the realization of compound thin-film solar cells using vacuum deposition and sulfide annealing. First, glass/SnS/Ag stacked precursors are prepared by vacuum deposition. Subsequently, they are converted to the ATS phase via sulfide annealing, and various process conditions, namely, annealing time, annealing temperature, and number of steps, are studied. By setting the heat treatment temperature at 550 °C and the heat treatment time at 60 min, a high-quality ATS thin film could be obtained. Multi-step heat treatment also produces thin films with nearly no segregation or voids.
ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma16186289