Solar Cells Fabricated by Spray Pyrolysis Based on CU₂NiSnS₄ Chalcogenide

Abstract

Chalcogenide layers of CU<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>NiSnS<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</inf> (CNTS) were controllably synthesized by a facile spray pyrolysis technique. The thickness effect variation on the structural, chemical, optical and electrical properties of the CNTS layers were investigated. According to XRD analysis, all layers are composed of CNTS phase and have been well crystallized in a cubic phase, with the crystallites oriented toward the (111) direction. The results of SEM analyses indicate that CNTS layers have a rather homogeneous and compact surface with very fine nodules. Thickness variation resulted a noticeably change in the optical band gap energy. Hall effect measurements show that all layers present a p-type conduction. From the I-V characteristics, we investigated that the CNTS/n-Si heterojunction exhibits a rectifying behavior. These results suggest that the CNTS layers are very suitable for low-cost photovoltaic applications.