Avoiding Fermi Level Pinning at the SnS Interface for High Open-Circuit VoltageClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Issei Suzuki*Issei Suzuki*E-mail: [email protected]Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577 Miyagi, JapanMore by Issei Suzuki
- Binxiang HuangBinxiang HuangDepartment of Materials and Earth Science, Electronic Structure of Materials, Technical University of Darmstadt, Otto-Berndt-Str. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyMore by Binxiang Huang
- Sakiko KawanishiSakiko KawanishiInstitute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577 Miyagi, JapanMore by Sakiko Kawanishi
- Takahisa OmataTakahisa OmataInstitute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577 Miyagi, JapanMore by Takahisa Omata
- Andreas KleinAndreas KleinDepartment of Materials and Earth Science, Electronic Structure of Materials, Technical University of Darmstadt, Otto-Berndt-Str. 3, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyMore by Andreas Klein
Abstract
Promising new, abundant, and environmentally friendly absorber materials for thin-film solar cells often suffer from low photovoltages, which are limited by Fermi-level pinning due to bulk or interface defects. If it is difficult to avoid Fermi-level pinning, low photovoltage cannot be overcome by optimizing the contact material and device processing. Therefore, it is essential to understand in the early stages of material development whether such Fermi-level pinning can be avoided and how. Using vacuum cleaved n-type SnS single crystals and thermally evaporated MoO3, it is demonstrated via in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that the Fermi energy of SnS at the interface can be shifted through the entire band gap indicating the absence of the Fermi level pinning, while the presence of the Fermi level pinning was observed in SnS interfaces in the literature. Based on the results of this study and earlier research on SnS thin films and solar cells, the underlying mechanisms behind the existence or lack of Fermi-level pinning at the SnS interfaces were discussed. Several suggestions concerning fabrication process and device design were offered to avoid the Fermi-level pinning of the SnS solar cells to realize higher photovoltages.
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This article is cited by 5 publications.
- Taichi Nogami, Issei Suzuki, Daiki Motai, Hiroshi Tanimura, Tetsu Ichitsubo, Takahisa Omata. Non-stoichiometry in SnS: How it affects thin-film morphology and electrical properties. APL Materials 2025, 13
(3)
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0248310
- D Mamedov, S Zh Karazhanov, N Alonso-Vante. Fermi level pinning in metal oxides: influence on photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 2024, 36
(41)
, 413001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/ad5d3b
- Md Tasirul Islam, Awalendra Kumar Thakur. Design Simulation of Chalcogenide Absorber‐Based Heterojunction Solar Cell Yielding Manifold Enhancement in Efficiency. physica status solidi (a) 2023, 220
(23)
https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202300290
- Issei Suzuki. Carrier control in SnS by doping: A review. Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan 2023, 131
(10)
, 777-788. https://doi.org/10.2109/jcersj2.23098
- Issei Suzuki, Zexin Lin, Taichi Nogami, Sakiko Kawanishi, Binxiang Huang, Andreas Klein, Takahisa Omata. High open-circuit voltage in single-crystalline
n
-type SnS/MoO3 photovoltaics. APL Materials 2023, 11
(3)
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0143617
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