19/6/23, 3:14 Optical and structural study of In2S3 thin films growth by co-evaporation and chemical bath deposition

deposition (CBD) on Cu3BiS3 - ScienceDirect

Applied Surface Science

Volume 350, 30 September 2015, Pages 38-42

Optical and structural study of In2S3 thin films growth by co-

evaporation and chemical bath deposition (CBD) on Cu3BiS3
F. Mesa a , W. Chamorro b, M. Hurtado c d

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Abstract

We present the growth of In2S3 onto Cu3BiS3 layers and soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates by using chemical
bath deposition (CBD) and physical co-evaporation. The results reveal that the microstructure and the
optical properties of the In2S3 films are highly dependent on the growth method. X-ray diffractrograms
show that In2S3 films have a higher crystallinity when growing by co-evaporation than by CBD. In2S3 thin
films grown by CBD with a thickness below 170 nm have an amorphous structure however when
increasing the thickness the films exhibit two diffraction peaks associated to the (1 0 3) and (1 0 7) planes of
the β-In2S3 tetragonal structure. It was also found that the In2S3 films present an energy bandgap (Eg) of
about 2.75 eV, regardless of the thickness of the samples.

Introduction

Currently, the maximum conversion efficiency achieved in thin film technology CIGS-based solar cells is
21.7% [1], [2], which uses CdS as the buffer layer. However, due to the use of Cd, a highly toxic element, a
special interest has emerged searching for potential candidates to replace it [3], [4], [5], [6]. In2S3 is
considered the most promising buffer layer because it has no toxic elements [7] and the production cost is
low. Moreover, recent researches have shown a good performance with CIGS absorber layers achieving a
comparable conversion efficiency compared to those using CdS layers [8].

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19/6/23, 3:14 Optical and structural study of In2S3 thin films growth by co-evaporation and chemical bath deposition (CBD) on Cu3BiS3 - ScienceDirect

In2S3 has been synthesized through various techniques such as co-evaporation [9], [10], [11], RF sputtering
[12], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [13], [14], spray ions layer gas reaction (ILGAR) [15], spray pyrolysis
[16], and chemical bath deposition (CBD) [17], [18], [19]; however, the optical properties depend strongly
on the growth technique used and the energy bandgap (Eg) can vary. In2S3 films grown by co-evaporation
show Eg values of 2.25–2.40 eV [20], [21] while films deposited by CBD have a Eg between 2.5 and 3.2 eV
[22], [23] depending on the synthesis conditions.

Regarding the absorber layer, special attention have led to propose compounds without non-abundant
elements as Ga and In in their structure as the Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (kesterite) [24], [25] or the Cu3BiS3
(witichenitte) compounds [26], [27].

In this work, it was compared the morphology, structural and optical properties of In2S3 films grown by
co-evaporation and CBD on solar lime glass and Cu3BiS3 as substrates. We also propose a new Cu3BiS3
based solar cell structure corresponding to Al/TCO/In2S3/Cu3BiS3/Mo.

Section snippets

Synthesis of Cu3BiS3 thin films

Cu3BiS3 thin films are deposited by co-evaporation of the elemental precursors (Cu, Bi, and S) in a two-
stage process [27]. The substrate temperature was maintained at 300 °C for both stages. In the first stage,
simultaneous evaporation of Bi and S lead to the formation of a Bi2S3 thin film (Eq. (1)). Bi and S
evaporation rate were 2.1 and 4.0 Å/s using a tungsten crucible and a stainless steel Knudsen cell
respectively. In the second stage, Cu and S were simultaneously evaporated onto the Bi2S3…

Crystal structure

Synthesized In2S3 thin films grown by CBD and co-evaporation were characterized through XRD
measurements to identify the crystalline phases and structural properties. Adjusting the synthesis
parameters, thin films were able to be grown on glass substrate by CBD with a deposition time of 60 min for
170 nm films thickness. In Fig. 1 diffractogram patterns of In2S3 thin films deposited on glass substrate by
CBD and co-evaporation are shown and compared to JCPDS database and theoretical simulation…

Conclusions

The In2S3 growth has been compared by two deposition methods. Films grown by CBD have lower
crystallinity than those grown by co-evaporation with the same thickness as confirmed by the X-ray
diffractograms. Thicker films grown by CBD show a similar X-ray diffraction pattern that those co-
evaporated. The results also reveal that the films have the tetragonal β- In2S3 phase and are oriented along
the [1 0 3] direction, this crystal phase is stable in a substrate temperature from 200 to 400 °C.

The Eg …

Acknowledgements
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19/6/23, 3:14 Optical and structural study of In2S3 thin films growth by co-evaporation and chemical bath deposition (CBD) on Cu3BiS3 - ScienceDirect

This work was supported by COLCIENCIAS, Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Colegio Mayor de
Nuestra Señora del Rosario and Universidad de los Andes. We thank the Semiconducting Materials and
Solar Energy Group led by Dr. Gerardo Gordillo for laboratory support in sample preparation.…

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