Optoelectronic Properties of PbS Films: Effect of Carrier Gas

Subject Areas : Journal of Optoelectronical Nanostructures

Mohsen Cheraghizade ¹ (Young Researchers and Elite Club, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran)

Received: 2018-11-06 Accepted : 2019-06-11 Published : 2019-05-01

Keywords: Solar Cell, Lead sulfide (PbS), Thermal evaporation, Carrier gas, Optoelectronic properties,

Abstract :

In this study, lead sulfide (PbS) films were grown on Fluorine-doped Tin
Oxide (FTO) glass substrate by thermal evaporation in a horizontal furnace to
investigate carrier gas effect on structural, morphological, elemental, optical, electrical
and photovoltaic properties of PbS. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the
formation of cubic polycrystalline PbS particles for all samples. The results showed that
using Ar+H2 as a carrier gas increased crystallite size of the film. Field emission
scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed nano-dimension surface
morphologies and revealed that using carrier gas can make the obtained films and their
surface porosities more uniform and regular. Also, the elemental analysis demonstrates
that using mixed carrier gas provides a better stoichiometry for PbS film. Optical and
electrical evaluations indicated improvements in absorption intensity and electrical
conductivity of the PbS film when using the mixed carrier gas. Finally, the deposited
films were characterized as solar cells and their quality parameters (QP) were extracted
and presented. The obtained results illustrate the improvement in QPs of PbS solar cell
when using mixed carrier gas.

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