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Sb 2 Se 3 is a promising absorber for thin film solar cells due to its nontoxicity, low cost, earth abundance and excellent photovoltaic properties. However, few reports focus on Sb 2 Se 3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Here we successfully deposited Sb 2 Se 3 thin films at different substrate temperatures by PLD. Structural, morphological, compositional, optical and electrical properties of Sb 2 Se 3 thin films were characterized. Results show that Sb 2 Se 3 thin films exhibit orthorhombic phase with good crystallinity and higher substrate temperature can distinctly improve crystal quality. Optical band gap is about 1.30 eV, 1.20 eV, 1.18 eV and 1.16 eV for Sb 2 Se 3 thin films deposited at 370 °C, 390 °C, 410 °C and 430 °C, respectively. In addition, the atomic ratio of selenium to antimony is 3/2, entirely consistent with the stoichiometry ratio of Sb 2 Se 3. Image 1 • Sb 2 Se 3 thin films were prepared on glass at different substrate temperatures by KrF PLD. • The atomic ratio of selenium to antimony was 3/2, entirely consistent with the stoichiometry ratio of Sb 2 Se 3. • Optical band gap was estimated to be 1.30 eV, 1.20 eV, 1.18 eV and 1.16 eV for Sb 2 Se 3 thin films deposited at 370 °C, 390 °C, 410 °C and 430 °C respectively. • High substrate temperature improved crystal quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen incorporation into ZnSe thin films in Ar/O 2 or O 2 ambient during radio-frequency sputtering was studied in this paper. With the increase of oxygen partial pressure ratio, the poor crystalline quality occurred in the films accompanying with a SeO 2 secondary phase. The values of optical band gap for the films increased after light oxygen doping, ranging from 2.65 to 2.88 eV, which indicates the formation of ZnSeO ternary compounds. The near-band edge emission was observed in all samples, i.e., electronic transitions from the valence band to the conduction band. Nevertheless, heavy incorporation of O in ZnSe thin films led to the formation of the thin films with wide energy band gap (∼5.61 eV) and high optical transmittance (∼90%). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra indicate that oxygen atoms ionized by plasma enhanced the formation of SeO 2 bonds with Se of ZnSe under the non-equilibrium conditions and many oxygen ions incorporated in the random sites, resulting in the formation of amorphous states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cd1−x Zn x Te (CZT) has a band gap tailored continuously from 1.45 to 2.26 eV and is therefore a potential candidate for the top cell in tandem solar cell applications. In this paper, Cd0.6Zn0.4Te: Cu thin films were fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering from three targets (ZnTe, CdTe and Cu). X-ray diffraction patterns show that the as-deposited films were the cubic phase with a preferred (111) orientation. The strain formed in the Cu-doped Cd0.6Zn0.4Te thin films increased with increasing Cu concentration. All the films had a band gap of around 1.72 eV, but an apparent decrease of transmittance occurred in heavily doped ones.5.70 at% doped Cd0.6Zn0.4Te: Cu films presented only less than 10% transmittance. The conductivity of Cd0.6Zn0.4Te: Cu films at room temperature increased with Cu concentration in the range of 10−4∼100 S cm−1. The temperature dependence of dark conductivity for Cu-doped samples did not follow the Arrhenius behavior and a deviation appeared on the warming curve. The activation energy of the dark conductivity for doped and undoped CZT films was calculated between 0.15 and 0.80 eV. Finally, CdS/CZT junctions were prepared. These devices were found to indicate the photovoltaic effects. And the device performance was analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]