Abstract
The paper deals with the deposition of Cu2Se/ZnSe/Cu2Se sandwich structure using facile thermal evaporation and the impact of sequential annealing on the characteristics of sandwich structure. XRD reveals the polycrystalline nature of sandwich structures. Laser Raman was carried out to explore the crystalline phase of sandwich structure. SEM analysis shows good crystalline nature with well-distinguished particles over the ZnSe layer. Cross-sectional FESEM image confirms the merged layer with no distinguished separate monolayers. Photoluminescence emission spectra of films exhibit violet emission and blue shifts upon annealing. Shifts and splits in optical bandgap values were observed upon annealing. Hall measurements infer p-type conductivity for the sandwich structure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
F. Meillaud, M. Boccard, G. Bugnon, M. Despeisse, S. Ha, F. Haug, M. Stuckelberger, C. Ballif, J. Persoz, J. Schu, Recent advances and remaining challenges in thin-film silicon photovoltaic technology. Mater. Today (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2015.03.002
A.G. Aberle, Thin-film solar cells. Thin Solid Films. (2009) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2009.03.056
Y. Hishikawa, W. Warta, M.A. Green, D.H. Levi, J. Hohl, E. Anita, W.Y.H. Baillie, E.D. Dunlop, Solar cell efficiency tables (version 50). Prog. Photovolt. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2909
B.P. Rand, J. Genoe, P. Heremans, J. Poortmans, Solar cells utilizing small molecular weight organic semiconductors. Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl. 15, 659–676 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip
P. Jackson, D. Hariskos, R. Wuerz, O. Kiowski, A. Bauer, T.M. Friedlmeier, M. Powalla, Properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with new record efficiencies up to 21.7%. Phys. Status Solidi. 9, 28–31 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.201409520
X. Liu, Y. Feng, H. Cui, F. Liu, X. Hao, G. Conibeer, D.B. Mitzi, M. Green, The current status and future prospects of kesterite solar cells: a brief review. Prog. Photovolt. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip
W. Septina, S. Ikeda, A. Kyoraiseki, T. Harada, M. Matsumura, Single-step electrodeposition of a microcrystalline Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin film with a kesterite structure. Electrochim. Acta. 88, 436–442 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.10.076
S. Bourdais, C. Chon, B. Delatouche, A. Jacob, G. Larramona, C. Moisan, A. Lafond, F. Donatini, G. Rey, S. Siebentritt, A. Walsh, G. Dennler, Is the Cu/Zn disorder the main culprit for the voltage deficit in kesterite solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 6, 1–21 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201502276
J.O. Jeon, K.D. Lee, L.S. Oh, S.W. Seo, D.K. Lee, H. Kim, J.H. Jeong, M.J. Ko, B. Kim, H.J. Son, J.Y. Kim, Highly efficient copper-zinc-tin-selenide (CZTSe) solar cells by electrodeposition, ChemSusChem (2014) https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201301347. 1073–1077
S. Chen, X.G. Gong, A. Walsh, S.H. Wei, Defect physics of the kesterite thin-film solar cell absorber Cu2ZnSnS4. Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 8–10 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3275796
S. Chen, A. Walsh, X.G. Gong, S.H. Wei, Classification of lattice defects in the kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2ZnSnSe4 earth-abundant solar cell absorbers. Adv. Mater. 25, 1522–1539 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201203146
A. Redinger, K. Hönes, X. Fontań, V. Izquierdo-Roca, E. Saucedo, N. Valle, A. Ṕrez-Rodríguez, S. Siebentritt, Detection of a ZnSe secondary phase in coevaporated Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 1–3 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3558706
Q. Guo, G.M. Ford, W. Yang, B.C. Walker, E.A. Stach, H.W. Hillhouse, R. Agrawal, Fabrication of 7.2% efficient CZTSSe solar cells using CZTS nanocrystals. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132 17384–17386 (2010)
K.V. Gurav, S.W. Shin, U.M. Patil, M.P. Suryawanshi, S.M. Pawar, M.G. Gang, S.A. Vanalakar, J.H. Yun, J.H. Kim, Improvement in the properties of CZTSSe thin films by selenizing single-step electrodeposited CZTS thin films. J. Alloys Compd. 631, 178–182 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.12.253
F.-I. Lai, J.-F. Yang, Y.-L. Wei, S.-Y. Kuo, High quality sustainable Cu2ZnSnSe4(CZTSe) absorber layers in highly efficient CZTSe solar cells. Green Chem. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1039/C6GC02300B
C. Dun, W. Huang, H. Huang, J. Xu, N. Zhou, Y. Zheng, H. Tsai, W. Nie, D.R. Onken, Y. Li, D.L. Carroll, Hydrazine-free surface modification of CZTSe nanocrystals with all-inorganic ligand. J. Phys. Chem. C. 118, 30302–30308 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp510558b
A. Mohan, S. Rajesh, Impact of annealing on the investigation of In3Se2/Cu2Se/In3Se2 sandwich structure prepared by thermal evaporation technique for solar cell applications. Superlattices Microstruct. 85, 638–645 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2015.05.018
M. Dimitrievska, A. Fairbrother, E. Saucedo, A. Pérez-Rodríguez, V. Izquierdo-Roca, Secondary phase and Cu substitutional defect dynamics in kesterite solar cells: impact on optoelectronic properties. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 149, 304–309 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2016.01.029
A. Mohan, S. Rajesh, M. Gopalakrishnan, Preparation of multiband structure with Cu2Se/Ga3Se2/In3Se2 thin films by thermal evaporation technique for maximal solar spectrum utilization. Superlattices Microstruct. 98, 46–53 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2016.08.006
S. Venkatachalam, Y.L. Jeyachandran, P. Sureshkumar, A. Dhayalraj, D. Mangalaraj, S.K. Narayandass, S. Velumani, Characterization of vacuum-evaporated ZnSe thin films. Mater. Charact. 58, 794–799 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2006.11.017
J. Xu, Q. Yang, W. Kang, X. Huang, C. Wu, L. Wang, L. Luo, W. Zhang, C.S. Lee, Water evaporation induced conversion of CuSe Nanoflakes to Cu2–xSe hierarchical columnar superstructures for high-performance solar cell applications. Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 32, 840–847 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.201400253
J. Kim, H.S. Lee, N.M. Park, Post-annealing effect on the reactively sputter-grown CIGS thin films and its influence to solar cell performance. Curr. Appl. Phys. 14, S63–S68 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cap.2013.11.040
J.F. Guillemoles, A. Lusson, P. Cowache, S. Massaccesi, J. Vedel, D. Lincot, Recrystallization of electrodeposited copper indium diselenide thin films in an atmosphere of elemental selenium. Adv. Mater. 6, 376–379 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.19940060507
B. Stegemann, J. Kegel, M. Mews, E. Conrad, Passivation of textured silicon wafers: Influence of pyramid size distribution, a-Si:H deposition temperature, and post-treatment. Energy Proced. 38, 881–889 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.07.360
O.M. Express, P. Sciences, A. Laboratories, E. Assessment, L. Based, M. View, Effect of laser-induced conversion of silicon nitride to silicon oxy-nitride on antireflective properties of passivation. Opt. Mater. Express (2016). https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.5.001532
A. Mohan, S. Rajesh, Temperature induced CuInSe2 nanocrystal formation in the Cu2Se-In3Se2 multilayer thin films. Superlattices Microstruct. 104 186–204 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2017.02.009
L.-N. Qiao, H.-C. Wang, Y. Shen, Y.-H. Lin, C.-W. Nan, Enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible and near-infrared irradiation of Cu1.8Se/Cu3Se2 composite via a phase junction. Nanomaterials 7, 19 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3390/nano7010019
Y.G. Gudage, N.G. Deshpande, A.A. Sagade, R. Sharma, Room temperature electrosynthesis of ZnSe thin films. J. Alloys Compd. 488, 157–162 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2008.11.036
X. Liu, Y. Feng, H. Cui, F. Liu, X. Hao, G. Conibeer, D.B. Mitzi, M. Green, Solar cells utilizing small molecular weight organic semiconductors. Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl. 24, 879–898 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1002/pip
R.B. Kale, C.D. Lokhande, Room temperature deposition of ZnSe thin films by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Mater. Res. Bull. 39, 1829–1839 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2004.06.014
C.X. Shan, Z. Liu, X.T. Zhang, C.C. Wong, S.K. Hark, Wurtzite ZnSe nanowires: growth, photoluminescence, and single-wire Raman properties. Nanotechnology. 17, 5561–5564 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/17/22/006
M.M.D. Kumar, S. Devadason, Evidence for quantum confinement effects in CdSe/ZnSe multilayer thin films prepared by the physical vapor deposition method. Acta Mater. 61, 4135–4141 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2013.03.040
X. Fan, D.J. Singh, W. Zheng, Valence band splitting on multilayer MoS2: mixing of spin-orbit coupling and interlayer coupling. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 7, 2175–2181 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00693
Y. Zhang, H. Li, H. Wang, R. Liu, S. Zhang, Z. Qiu, I. Science, F. Materials, I. Technology, C. Academy, C. Road, S. Electronics, U. Se, On valence-band splitting in layered MoS on valence-band splitting in layered MoS 2. ACS Nano 9, 8514–8519 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b03505
A. Kathalingam, T. Mahalingam, C. Sanjeeviraja, Optical and structural study of electrodeposited zinc selenide thin films. Mater. Chem. Phys. 106, 215–221 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2007.05.051
C. Raju, M. Falmbigl, P. Rogl, X. Yan, E. Bauer, J. Horky, M. Zehetbauer, R.C. Mallik, Thermoelectric properties of chalcogenide based Cu2–xZnSn1–xSe4. AIP Adv. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4794733
W. Zhou, R. Liu, D. Tang, X. Wang, H. Fan, A. Pan, Q. Zhang, Q. Wan, B. Zou, Luminescence and local photonic confinement of single ZnSe:Mn nanostructure and the shape dependent lasing behavior. Nanotechnology 24, 55201 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/24/5/055201
M. Azizar Rahman, M.K.R. Khan, Effect of annealing temperature on structural, electrical and optical properties of spray pyrolytic nanocrystalline CdO thin films. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 24, 26–33 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2014.03.002
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nelson, P.I., Kannan, R.R., Mohan, A. et al. Impact of sequential annealing on the characteristics of thermally evaporated semiconductor Cu2Se/ZnSe/Cu2Se sandwich structure. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 7393–7401 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8730-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8730-z