Abstract:
In last decades, the study of thin films has increased intensively in the solar cell
technology because ofthe raw material can be obtained easily, cheaper and abundant.
Various types of thin films are developed into different techniques with different
conditions. In that order, the Antimony trisulfide (SbzS:) has received a little attention
as a potential candidate in solar energy conversion. The constituent materials (Sb and
S) are abundant and more environmentally acceptable compared to the cadmiumrelated
materials used in the fabrication of some advanced thin film solar cells. Also,
high absorption coefficient, 1ow melting point, airlmoisture-stability and bandgap
(Eg) of 1 .2-l .8 eV of SbzS: perfectly matches with required Eg values for the top sub
cell in Si based tandem dual-junction solar cells, yielding a maximum theoretical PCE
exceeding 40%. Different film deposition methods such as, chemical bath deposition,
Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR), elecko deposition, flash
evaporation, spray pyolysis and spin coating, etc have been published and among
them, the spin coating was found to be an effective method. In this review, SbzS: fi1m
preparation by spin coating was investigated. In most of the sfudies, SbCl: and
thioureahave been used as precursors for Sb and S respectively and these precursors
were mixed with 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) and stirred for few hours depending on
the molar ratio of the solutes. AIso, the precursor solutions have been deposited with
various speed and time. The qJality and characters of the Sb2S3 film were varied
with various preparation conditions. These films have been tested by XRD, UVVisible
absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
measurements. A great amount of investigations has been going on developing and
modifying these various types of SbzSr films with different HTM (Hole Transport
Material) and counter electrodes to achieve a higher efficiency.
