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Effects of growth temperatures on the structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered zinc sulfide thin films for solar cell applications

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Abstract

The role of various substrate temperatures on the structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films has been investigated in this work. The study of prepared film characterization has been done by XRD, AFM, UV–Vis spectrometry and Hall-effect measurement analysis. XRD patterns of the room temperature grown films reveal an amorphous nature, while the films deposited at 100 °C, 200 °C. 300 °C and 400 °C are found to be polycrystalline having the (111) preferential orientation. The optical bandgap values are found in the range of 3.18–3.61 eV depending on the substrate temperatures. The bulk and surface carrier densities are found in the order of 1012 cm−3 and 107 cm−3, respectively. The growth temperatures are also observed to have a significant effect on the electrical characteristic of the deposited films.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express the deepest appreciation to the Ministry of Education Malaysia for the support through FRGS grant with the code of FRGS/1/2018/TK05/UNITEN/02/1. Authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the Universiti Tenaga Nasional (@The National Energy University) of Malaysia for their contribution through BOLD2025 Program. Gratitude is also attributed to the Center for Integrated Systems Engineering and Advanced Technologies (INTEGRA) of The National University of Malaysia (@UKM) for other supports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia

    Faiazul Haque

  2. Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (@The National Energy University), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Kazi Sajedur Rahman, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Yulisa Yusoff, Ammar Ahmed Nasser & Nowshad Amin

  3. INTEGRA, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, The National University of Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Faiazul Haque & Nowshad Amin

  4. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Naveed Aziz Khan

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Haque, F., Rahman, K.S., Islam, M.A. et al. Effects of growth temperatures on the structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered zinc sulfide thin films for solar cell applications. Opt Quant Electron 51, 278 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-019-1994-6

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