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Flexible thin-film solar cells are important for their advantages in many aspects, and aluminum antimonide (AlSb) can be used as an absorbent layer in thin-film solar cells. However, its deliquescence limits its practical use. In this work, AlSb films were prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on stainless steel flexible substrates. A flexible conformal coating membrane using acrylic resin was deposited on the AlSb films and its deliquescence prevention effect was verified. It was found that after conformal coating treatment, the deliquescence of the AlSb film was effectively stopped. The bare AlSb films and the Ni/AlSb/acrylic resin/Ni multilayer films were exposed to ambient air at the same time under the same conditions for lengths of time ranging from 1 min to 60 days. After 60 days, the bare AlSb film experienced significant deliquescence, such that the film was completely destroyed. However, the Ni/AlSb/acrylic resin/Ni multilayer films did not exhibit deliquescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional sol-gel process usually takes a long time to form a stable Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) sol-gel solution, which increases the whole process time. In this paper, an electrodeposition assisted sol-gel process was employed to reduce the solution preparation time. Cu was electrodeposited on Mo surface and ZnSnS sol-gel was rotated on Cu surface to prepare CZTS films. The solution preparation time was reduced from 12h to 30min. The mechanism of CZTS phase formation with sol-gel method assisted by electrodeposition was studied. Cu 3 SnS 4 phase was formed during the electrodeposition assisted sol-gel process, while Cu 2 SnS 3 phase was formed when the CZTS precursor during sol-gel process. Cu content was rich at the beginning of the reaction to form Cu 3 SnS 4 during the electrodeposited assisted sol-gel process. CZTS films with Cu/(Zn + Sn) of 0.84 and Zn/Sn of 1.03 were prepared by sol-gel method assisted by electrodeposition. Compared with CZTS films prepared by sol-gel method, CZTS films prepared by this method have larger and more uniform grains. It is also found that the thickness of MoS 2 layer was thinner than the one prepared by sol-gel method. • An electrodeposition assisted sol-gel method was employed to prepare CZTS films. • The solution preparation time was reduced from overnight to 30min. • The grains of CZTS films prepared by this method were larger and more uniform than the one prepared by sol-gel method. • Electrodeposited Cu helped to suppress the formation of MoS 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlSb is a new type of optoelectronic material with wide potential application prospects, but the applications of AlSb thin films for solar cells were few reported before, owing to the intrinsic drawbacks of deliquescence for AlSb. In this work, four types of AlSb/Sb stacks were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition: (1) AlSb/Sb (5 nm), (2) AlSb/Sb (10 nm), (3) AlSb/Sb (15 nm) and (4) the in situ annealed AlSb film covered with Sb film which thickness is 15 nm. The experimental results indicate that the thicker the Sb layer deposited on the surface of the AlSb film is, the lower the degree of deliquescence will be. XRD measurements showed that the AlSb/Sb stacks were not deliquesced completely after exposed to air for 48 h. The EDS spectrum suggested that the percentage of oxygen atoms in the annealed AlSb film covered with Sb (15 nm) was smaller than the unannealed. The SEM morphology analysis revealed the deliquescence of AlSb film: the local film deliquesced to form sand inclusions first, after then the gradual increased of the sand inclusions lead to all deliquescence of the crystalline AlSb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sb 2 S 3 has a unique one-dimensional structure-composed (Sb 4 S 6) n ribbons leads to strong anisotropic carrier transport characteristic: carrier transport along the (Sb 4 S 6) n ribbon is more efficient than other ribbons. Therefore, it's crucial to control the direction of grain growth along the (hk1) orientation. In this work, the close space sublimation method was utilized to fabricate Sb 2 S 3 thin films with a systematic al regulation of substrate temperature. The results demonstrate that optimized Sb 2 S 3 thin film presented preferred orientation at the direction of (hk1). The champion device based on Au and Ni electrodes achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.06% and 1.69%, respectively. Schematic diagram of the close space sublimation system. [Display omitted] • The (hk1)-oriented Sb 2 S 3 thin films were prepared by close space sublimation method. • Study of the effect of different substrate temperatures on the structure and morphology of Sb 2 S 3 thin films. • Solar cells with structure of FTO/TiO 2 /CdS/Sb 2 S 3 /Ni were fabricated. • Ni was firstly used as the electrode for Sb 2 S 3 solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new-type absorber material, antimony sulfide (Sb 2 S 3) possesses the advantages of earth-abundant elemental contents, low-toxic constituents, appropriate photoelectric properties, and unique one-dimensional crystal structure. We utilized the close space sublimation technique to deposit high-quality Sb 2 S 3 thin-film with (hk 1)-preferred orientation by controlling source temperature. Then, Sb 2 S 3 thin film solar cells with the superstrate structure of FTO/CdS/Sb 2 S 3 /Au were fabricated, achieving a conversion efficiency of 2.86%. To further enhance efficiency, co-selenization process was employed in the Sb 2 S 3 thin films by co-sublimation, which improve the crystallinity of films, increase grain size and form stronger (hk 1)-preferred orientation. In addition, co-selenization process can adjust band gap value and enhance junction quality. By these approaches, we enhanced the short circuit current density (Jsc) of Sb 2 S 3 solar cell efficiently. The Sb 2 S 3 solar cell fabricated by CSS achieved an efficiency of 4.45% using co-selenization process. These methods can be applied to other chalcogenides thin-film solar cells, providing a practical way for the device performance improvement. • Close space sublimation was employed to prepar Sb 2 S 3 thin film. • Sb 2 S 3 underwent the co-selenization process was synthesized by co-sublimation for the first time. • Sb 2 S 3 thin film solar cell obtained the efficiency of 2.86% by controlling the source temperature. • Se–Sb 2 S 3 soar cell fabricated by CSS achieved the efficiency of 4.45%, obtained an enhancement of 55.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the CZTS absorbers were prepared by sol-gel method and the combination of electrodeposition and sol-gel method. The influence of Na and/or K incorporation on the thickness of MoS 2 during sulfurization process was investigated. XRD, Raman, and SEM characterizes presented that K incorporation could help to suppress the formation of MoS 2 , which induced to reduce the thickness of MoS 2. Additionally, Na and/or K doping could eliminate the existence of the voids and improve the quality of CZTS thin film. Besides, the CZTS absorbers fabricated by the combination process of electrodeposition and sol-gel shown a better adhesion than that fabricated by sol-gel method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuSbSe 2 has been a potential absorber layer for thin film solar cells by reason of its attractive photovoltaic properties and environmentally friendly constituent elements. In this work, high-quality CuSbSe 2 thin film was prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and further in-situ annealing. Structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of the unannealed and annealed films were characterized and compared separately. The results proved the existence of CuSbSe 2 , Sb 2 Se 3 and Cu 3 SbSe 3 in the unannealed film. With the rising of deposition temperature, the content of Sb 2 Se 3 increased significantly. Moreover, in-situ annealing at 350 °C can effectively reduce the Sb 2 Se 3 and Cu 3 SbSe 3 in the film. The atomic ratio of Cu:Sb:Se in the annealed film is estimated to be 25.45:26.29:48.27, basically consistent with the stoichiometry ratio of CuSbSe 2. Both annealed and unannealed CuSbSe 2 films revealed a high absorption coefficient greater than 104 cm−1. The optical band gap of the annealed film was about 1.15eV, which meets the requirements for the absorber layer of solar cells. •High-quality CuSbSe 2 thin film was successfully prepared by pulsed laser deposition •The effect of deposition temperature on CuSbSe 2 thin film prepared by pulsed laser deposition was explored •In-situ annealing was applied to reduce impurities and promote the formation of CuSbSe 2 •It would be helpful for the applications of CuSbSe 2 in solar cells in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]