Band alignment of Sb<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>



Shiel, Huw, Hobson, Theodore DC, Hutter, Oliver S, Phillips, Laurie J ORCID: 0000-0001-5181-1565, Smiles, Matthew J ORCID: 0000-0003-2530-5647, Jones, Leanne AH, Featherstone, Thomas J, Swallow, Jack EN, Thakur, Pardeep K, Lee, Tien-Lin
et al (show 3 more authors) (2021) Band alignment of Sb<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 129 (23). 235301-.

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Abstract

<jats:p>Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) possesses great potential in the field of photovoltaics (PV) due to its suitable properties for use as a solar absorber and good prospects for scalability. Previous studies have reported the growth of a native antimony oxide (Sb2O3) layer at the surface of Sb2Se3 thin films during deposition and exposure to air, which can affect the contact between Sb2Se3 and subsequent layers. In this study, photoemission techniques were utilized on both Sb2Se3 bulk crystals and thin films to investigate the band alignment between Sb2Se3 and the Sb2O3 layer. By subtracting the valence band spectrum of an in situ cleaved Sb2Se3 bulk crystal from that of the atmospherically contaminated bulk crystal, a valence band offset (VBO) of −1.72 eV is measured between Sb2Se3 and Sb2O3. This result is supported by a −1.90 eV VBO measured between Sb2O3 and Sb2Se3 thin films via the Kraut method. Both results indicate a straddling alignment that would oppose carrier extraction through the back contact of superstrate PV devices. This work yields greater insight into the band alignment of Sb2O3 at the surface of Sb2Se3 films, which is crucial for improving the performance of these PV devices.</jats:p>

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 07 Jun 2021 07:45
Last Modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:48
DOI: 10.1063/5.0055366
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3125351