Solid State Properties and Structural Characterization of Sb₂Te₃ and Tl₂S Thin Films

摘要

Antimony sulphide (Sb2S3) and Thallium Sulphide (Tl2S) thin films each were deposited from aqueous baths on glass substrates. Thin films of antimony sulphide (Sb2S3) were deposited from a bath containing antimony trichloride dissolved in acetone and Sodium thiosulphate. Thin films of thallium sulphide (Tl2S) were deposited from a bath containing thallium nitrate, sodium citrate, sodium hydroxide and thiourea. Some of the films produced were annealed in oven for 2hours at various temperatures. Multilayer films of Sb2S3-Tl2S and Tl2S-S2S3 were also produced, and annealed for 2hours at 180oC. The thin films produced were studied using XRD, spectrophotometer and optical microscope. From the transmittance spectra, the optical band gaps for the films were calculated. The values obtained for these materials are 1.40eV (Sb2S3), 1.30eV (Tl2S) and between 1.40 and 1.70eV for the multilayer films (Tl2S-Sb2S3). Some of the films have very poor transmittance and high absorbance values throughout the solar spectrum and therefore can be used as solar cell absorbers.