New Technique For Efficiency Enhancement Of Film Electrodes Deposited By Argon Gas Condensation From Metal Chalcogenide Sources

This work describes a new technique to enhance photoactivity of metal chalcogenide-based semiconductor film electrodes deposited by thermal vacuum evaporation under argon gas flow. The experimental work involves controlling a number of parameters such as type of source material (S-M = SnSe, Cu2SnSe3 and Cu2ZnSnSe4), substrate temperature (T-S = room temperature RT, 100, 200, 300 degrees C), argon gas flow rates (V-A = 5, 10, 15, 25 cm(3)/min) and temperature of annealing (T-A = 150, 250, 350, 450 degrees C) under nitrogen atmosphere. The effects of varying each parameter on structural, morphological, compositional, photoresponse and optical properties of the deposited electrode were studied. The film deposited at T-S = 100 degrees C under V-A = 25 cm(3)/min from Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CTZSe) source showed highest photoactivity (p %) value 55.7 % compared to films deposited from SnSe (TSe) and Cu2SnSe3 (CTSe) sources, with p % values of 8.3 % and 34.8 %, respectively. Thus, using the quaternary Cu2ZnSnSe4 compound as a source material, offered a new inroad to prepare photoactive thin film electrodes using the argon gas condensation (AGC) technique, simply by varying argon gas flow rate.