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Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Monosulfide Thin Films
Author(s) -
Sinsermsuksakul Prasert,
Heo Jaeyeong,
Noh Wontae,
Hock Adam S.,
Gordon Roy G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201100330
Subject(s) - materials science , tin , atomic layer deposition , thin film , band gap , stoichiometry , analytical chemistry (journal) , layer (electronics) , deposition (geology) , semiconductor , absorption (acoustics) , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , composite material , paleontology , chromatography , sediment , biology
Thin film solar cells made from earth‐abundant, non‐toxic materials are needed to replace the current technology that uses Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2 and CdTe, which contain scarce and toxic elements. One promising candidate absorber material is tin monosulfide (SnS). In this report, pure, stoichiometric, single‐phase SnS films were obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using the reaction of bis( N , N′‐ diisopropylacetamidinato)tin(II) [Sn(MeC(N‐ i Pr) 2 ) 2 ] and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) at low temperatures (100 to 200 °C). The direct optical band gap of SnS is around 1.3 eV and strong optical absorption ( α > 10 4 cm −1 ) is observed throughout the visible and near‐infrared spectral regions. The films are p‐type semiconductors with carrier concentration on the order of 10 16 cm −3 and hole mobility 0.82–15.3 cm 2 V −1 s −1 in the plane of the films. The electrical properties are anisotropic, with three times higher mobility in the direction through the film, compared to the in‐plane direction.