P-type conductivity in Sn-doped Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>



Hobson, Theodore DC, Shiel, Huw, Savory, Christopher N, Swallow, Jack EN, Jones, Leanne AH, Featherstone, Thomas J, Smiles, Matthew J ORCID: 0000-0003-2530-5647, Thakur, Pardeep K, Lee, Tien-Lin, Das, Bhaskar
et al (show 7 more authors) (2022) P-type conductivity in Sn-doped Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>. Journal of Physics: Energy, 4 (4). 045006-045006.

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Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Antimony selenide (Sb<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>Se<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>) is a promising absorber material for thin-film photovoltaics. However, certain areas of fundamental understanding of this material remain incomplete and this presents a barrier to further efficiency gains. In particular, recent studies have highlighted the role of majority carrier type and extrinsic doping in drastically changing the performance of high efficiency devices (Hobson <jats:italic>et al</jats:italic> 2020 <jats:italic>Chem. Mater.</jats:italic> <jats:bold>32</jats:bold> 2621–30). Herein, Sn-doped Sb<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>Se<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> bulk crystals are shown to exhibit p-type conductivity using Hall effect and hot-probe measurements. The measured conductivities are higher than those achieved through native defects alone, but with a carrier density (up to 7.4 × 10<jats:sup>14</jats:sup> cm<jats:sup>−3</jats:sup>) several orders of magnitude smaller than the quantity of Sn included in the source material. Additionally, a combination of ultraviolet, x-ray and hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopies are employed to obtain a non-destructive depth profile of the valence band maximum, confirming p-type conductivity and indicating a majority carrier type inversion layer at the surface. Finally, these results are supported by density functional theory calculations of the defect formation energies in Sn-doped Sb<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>Se<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>, showing a possible limit on the carrier concentration achievable with Sn as a dopant. This study sheds light on the effectiveness of Sn as a p-type dopant in Sb<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>Se<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> and highlights avenues for further optimisation of doped Sb<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>Se<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> for solar energy devices.</jats:p>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Sb2Se3, inversion layer, doping, photovoltaics, crystals, chalcogenides, x-ray photoemission
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2022 09:44
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 20:40
DOI: 10.1088/2515-7655/ac91a6
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3165147