Frontiers in Materials (Jan 2022)

Sulfurization of Electrodeposited Sb/Cu Precursors for CuSbS2: Potential Absorber Materials for Thin-Film Solar Cells

  • Aimei Zhao,
  • Yanping Wang,
  • Bing Li,
  • Dongmei Xiang,
  • Zhuo Peng,
  • Yujie Yuan,
  • Yupeng Xing,
  • Liyong Yao,
  • Jinlian Bi,
  • Wei Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2021.818596
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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CuSbS2, as a direct bandgap semiconductor, is a promising candidate for fabricating flexible thin-film solar cells due to its low grain growth temperature (300°C–450°C). Uniform and highly crystalline CuSbS2 thin films are crucial to improving device performance. However, uniform CuSbS2 is difficult to obtain during electrodeposition and post-sulfurization due to the “dendritic” deposition of Cu on Mo substrates. In this study, Sb/Cu layers were sequentially pulse electrodeposited on Mo substrates. By adjusting the pulse parameters, smooth and uniform Sb layers were prepared on Mo, and a flat Cu layer was obtained on Sb without any dendritic clusters. A two-step annealing process was employed to fabricate CuSbS2 thin films. The effects of temperature on phases and morphologies were investigated. CuSbS2 thin films with good crystallinity were obtained at 360°C. As the annealing temperature increased, the crystallinity of the films decreased. The CuSbS2 phase transformed into a Cu3SbS4 phase with the temperature increase to 400°C. Finally, a 0.90% efficient solar cell was obtained using the CuSbS2 thin films annealed at 360°C.

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