Abstract
Tin(II) sulfide (SnS) is emerging as an attractive p-type absorber layer material for thin film photovoltaics, which motivates the search for Ohmic, low-resistance contacts for SnS. In this study, Pd and Au contacts were prepared on sputter-deposited SnS films and electrically characterized both as-deposited and after annealing of the contacts. Ternary phase diagrams were also calculated to help predict whether the chosen metals would react with the SnS film. Pd was expected to react with the SnS film, while Au was expected to be in thermodynamic equilibrium. The Pd contacts appeared reactive, and their resistance was minimized with post-deposition annealing at 400°C, while the Au contacts showed little change upon annealing and remained unreactive.
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R. Banai, Ph.D. dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2015
J. Nasr, Master’s thesis, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2016
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Gurunathan, R.L., Nasr, J., Cordell, J.J. et al. Pd and Au Contacts to SnS: Thermodynamic Predictions and Annealing Study. J. Electron. Mater. 45, 6300–6304 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-016-5042-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-016-5042-z