S. Kumar^a, A. Alam^b, K. P. Tiwary^c,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.7, pp. 567-574, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.217.567

Abstract The development of CdZnS thin films using the chemical bath deposition process in nonaqueous media is a technological challenge. In this work, 75 millilitres of ethylene glycol and ethanol (1:2 ratios) were used to develop a CdZnS thin film on ITO and FTO glass substrates using cadmium acetate, zinc sulphate, and thiourea. The ideal bath temperature was kept at 130℃ and the anneal temperature of the film that had been deposited in the air was maintained at 350℃. The films have been examined using FTIR, WCA, FESEM, and XRD. XRD studies reveal that CdZnS films… More >

Y. Qachaou^a,*, O. Daoudi^b, I. Jellal^a, A. Fahmi^a, M. Lharch^a, A. Qachaou^a, A. Raidou^a, M. Fahoume^a

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.7, pp. 557-565, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.217.557

Abstract The (SnS) thin films were prepared by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR), a versatile and simple method. The cationic and anionic solutions SnCl₂.2H₂O and Na₂S.9H₂O respectively were used as precursor materials, which will be deposited on glass substrates to study the effect of rinsing temperature on the properties of our thin films. The structural, morphological, and optical properties were investigated by using X-ray diffraction, Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and spectrophotometer. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns indicated that the deposited SnS thin films have an orthorhombic crystal structure. Uniform deposition of More >

A. Skender^a, A. Aissat^a,b,c,*, J. P. Vilcot^c

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.8, pp. 651-663, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.218.651

Abstract The use of semiconductors based on abundant and less expensive materials in photovoltaic industry has grown since electricity consumption has increased, alloys such as Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ have recently attracted attention, due to its structural, optical and electronic properties which make it a very promising candidate as an absorber layer in photovoltaic applications. The lattice mismatch of Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ with Cu2NiGeS4 as substrate for solar cell architecture reveals that low Se content (0.1≤x≤0.4) is favorable, and thus, by reducing Se content from 40 to 10% induces a decrease in optical parameters such as refractive index from 5.475 to 3.834 More >

D. N. Alhilfi^a,*, A. S. Al-Kabbib^b

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.8, pp. 641-649, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.218.641

Abstract The electrochemical deposition method created a CdSe thin film on FTO glass substrates. The film was examined using field scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and optical and electrochemical measurements. The results show that the CdSe nanoparticles were evenly distributed on the substrate, with a Cd/Se ratio of 63.30% Se and 36.70% Cd. The XRD revealed a polycrystalline, hexagonal structure. The film is n-type semiconductor concentration with a carrier concentration of 1.194×10²⁰ cm^-3 . The CdSe showed 552.5 mF/cm² of specific capacity with energy and a power density of 2.5 mW/cm² and 9000 mW/cm² More >

B. K. H. Al-Maiyaly, S. M. Ali, B. H. Hussein, H. K. Hassun^*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.8, pp. 605-613, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.218.605

Abstract Copper doped Zinc oxide and (n-ZnO / p-Si and n-ZnO: Cu / p-Si) thin films thru thickness (400±20) nm were deposited by thermal evaporation technique onto two substrates. The influence of different Cu percentages (1%,3% and 5%) on ZnO thin film besides hetero junction (ZnO / Si) characteristics were investigated, with X-ray diffractions examination supports ZnO films were poly crystal then hexagonal structural per crystallite size increase from (22.34 to 28.09) nm with increasing Cu ratio. The optical properties display exceptional optically absorptive for 5% Cu dopant with reduced for optically gaps since 3.1 toward More >

Y. B. Kishore Kumar^a, S. Guru Prasad^b, A. S. Swapna Smitha^c, U. Chalapathi^d,*, G. Suresh Babu^c, Y. Jayasree^e, P. Uday Bhaskar^f, Si-Hyun Park^d

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.9, pp. 719-727, 2024

Abstract This study explores the ternary compound semiconductor as a potential absorber layer for third-generation solar cells. CuSbS₂, a promising candidate for thin film absorber layers, is fabricated using a simple spray pyrolysis method. The research specifically investigates the influence of two different carrier gases during the fabrication process. X-ray diffraction as well as Raman studies confirm that the films exhibit a chalcostibite structure. Notably, films fabricated with nitrogen as the carrier gas demonstrate enhanced crystallinity, accompanied by reduced microstrain and dislocation density. Furthermore, these films exhibit a significantly improved absorption coefficient, reaching 10⁵ cm^-1 . Optical studies More >

H. K. Mahmood^*, B. H. Hussein

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.9, pp. 687-694, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.219.687

Abstract ZnIn₂(Se_1-xTe_x)₄ (ZIST) chalcopyrite semiconductor thin films at various contents (x = 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4) are deposited on glass and p type silicon (111) substrate to produce heterojunction solar cell by using the thermal evaporation technique at RT where the thickness of 500 nm with a vacuum of 1×10^-5 mbar and a deposited rates of 5.1 nm/s. This study focuses on how differing x content effect on the factors affecting the solar cell characteristics of ZIST thin film and n-ZIST/p-Si heterojunction. X-ray diffraction XRD investigation shows that this structure of ZIST film is polycrystalline and tetragonal,… More >

M. Sudha^a,*, A. B. Madhan^b, M. Revathi^c

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.10, pp. 841-845, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.2110.841

Abstract Zinc sulfide thin films were prepared using the economical spray pyrolysis process. A thin film of exceptional quality with a temperature difference of 300 °C to 400 °C is produced by optimizing variables such as concentration, flow rate, and nozzle to substrate distance. These films' optical characteristics and structure were examined. The deposited thin films displayed a direct and allowed transition, as indicated by the optical transmittance spectra. XRD analysis confirmed that the deposited thin films were polycrystalline with a cubic phase. This film can be used in solar cell applications since the band gap More >

G. M. Liu^a, G. Hu^b, P. Tang^c, L. L. Wu^a,d,*, X. Hao^a,d, G. G. Zeng^a, W. W. Wang^a, J. Q. Zhang^a,d

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.10, pp. 797-808, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.2110.797

Abstract V-doped CdTe polycrystalline films can achieve both doping activation and defect passivation by high-temperature CdCl₂ heat treatment, but this requires simultaneous modulation of the amount of CdCl₂ introduced to obtain high-quality films. It is found that increasing the CdCl₂ introduction does not change the physical phase structure and lattice constant of CdTe:As thin films, but promotes grain recrystallisation, and can promote the formation of A-center, and inhibit the formation of Cd vacancy (VCd) defects, as well as the formation of deep energy level defects. The results provide guidance for the improvement of high-temperature CdCl₂ heat treatment of More >

L. Bouras^a, A. Beggas^a,*, D. Sahnoune^b, M. Ghougali^a, R. Ferhat^a

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.11, pp. 917-926, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.2111.917

Abstract The present study intends to provide the impact of nitric acid on the structural and optical characteristics of thin films of ZnO. The latter was grown on substrates of glass via spray pyrolysis with 400°C, using Zinc acetate aqueous solution acidified by different amounts of nitric acid to obtain a pH ranging from 6.8 to 2.9. The film properties were analyzed as a function of pH. In the light of the XRD analysis, all the films have a preferential direction along the (002) plane. Depending on pH conditions, the crystal size increased from 32.38 to More >