Phase-pure evaporation of tin (II) sulfide for solar cell applications

Tin (II) sulfide is a promising earth-abundant thin-film solar absorber material due to its strong absorption and near-optimal bandgap. We demonstrate phase-pure evaporation of SnS in a CdTe-like manufacturing process, achieving phase-pure SnS thin-films through thermal evaporation of SnS powder. We investigate the effects of SnS film thickness and growth rate on film morphology and correlate results with device performance. Working devices are achieved with SnS film thicknesses as low as 370 nm and growth rates of up to 50 Å/s, with efficiencies ranging from 1.1% to 2.6% in as-grown films.