The impact of sodium contamination in tin sulfide thin-film solar cells | Zendy

Vera Steinmann | Zendy; Riley E. Brandt | Zendy; Rupak Chakraborty | Zendy; R. Jaramillo | Zendy; Matthew Young | Zendy; Benjamin K. Ofori-Okai | Zendy; Chuanxi Yang | Zendy; Alex Polizzotti | Zendy; Keith A. Nelson | Zendy; Roy G. Gordon | Zendy; Tonio Buonassisi | Zendy

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The impact of sodium contamination in tin sulfide thin-film solar cells

Author(s) -

Vera Steinmann,

Riley E. Brandt,

Rupak Chakraborty,

R. Jaramillo,

Matthew Young,

Benjamin K. Ofori-Okai,

Chuanxi Yang,

Alex Polizzotti,

Keith A. Nelson,

Roy G. Gordon,

Tonio Buonassisi

Publication year - 2016

Publication title -

apl materials

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.571

H-Index - 60

ISSN - 2166-532X

DOI - 10.1063/1.4941713

Subject(s) - materials science , thin film , tin , solar cell , sodium , doping , acceptor , sulfide , lead sulfide , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , metallurgy , chemistry , environmental chemistry , condensed matter physics , physics , quantum dot , engineering

Through empirical observations, sodium (Na) has been identified as a benign contaminant in some thin-film solar cells. Here, we intentionally contaminate thermally evaporated tin sulfide (SnS) thin-films with sodium and measure the SnS absorber properties and solar cell characteristics. The carrier concentration increases from 2 × 10[superscript 16] cm[superscript −3] to 4.3 × 10[superscript17] cm[superscript−3] in Na-doped SnS thin-films, when using a 13 nm NaCl seed layer, which is detrimental for SnS photovoltaic applications but could make Na-doped SnS an attractive candidate in thermoelectrics. The observed trend in carrier concentration is in good agreement with density functional theory calculations, which predict an acceptor-type Na[subscriptSn] defect with low formation energy.United States. Department of Energy (SunShot Initiative, Contract No. DE-EE0005329)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant No. CHE-11115577)Alexander von Humboldt FoundationNational Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship ProgramMIT Energy Initiative (Fellowship)United States. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Postdoctoral Research Award)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award No. DMR-08-19762)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Center for Nanoscale Systems (Award No. ECS-0335765

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