Thin film preparation of semiconducting iron pyrite

Greg P. Smestad; Ahmed Ennaoui; Sebastian Fiechter; Wolfgang Hofmann; Helmut Tributsch; Wolfgang Kautek

doi:10.1117/12.20433

1 August 1990 Thin film preparation of semiconducting iron pyrite

Greg P. Smestad, Ahmed Ennaoui, Sebastian Fiechter, Wolfgang Hofmann, Helmut Tributsch, Wolfgang Kautek

Proceedings Volume 1272, Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion IX; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.20433
Event: The International Congress on Optical Science and Engineering, 1990, The Hague, Netherlands

Abstract

Pyrite (Fe52) has been investigated as a promising new absorber material for thin film solar cell applications because of its high optical absorption coefficient of 1OL cm1, and its bandgap of 0.9 to 1.0 eV. Thin layers have been prepared by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition, MOCVD, Chemical Spray Pyrolysis, CSP, Chemical Vapor Transport, CVT, and Sulfurization of Iron Oxide films, 510. It is postulated that for the material FeS2, if x is not zero, a high point defect concentration results from replacing 2 dipoles by single S atoms. This causes the observed photovoltages and solar conversion efficiencies to be lower than expected. Using the Fe-O-S ternary phase diagram and the related activity plots, a thermodynamic understanding is formulated for the resulting composition of each of these types of films. It is found that by operating in the oxide portion of the phase diagram, the resulting oxidation state favors pyrite formation over FeS. By proper orientation of the grains relative to the film surface, and by control of pinholes and stoichiometry, an efficient thin film photovolatic solar cell material could be achieved.

Citation Download Citation

Greg P. Smestad, Ahmed Ennaoui, Sebastian Fiechter, Wolfgang Hofmann, Helmut Tributsch, and Wolfgang Kautek "Thin film preparation of semiconducting iron pyrite", Proc. SPIE 1272, Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion IX, (1 August 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.20433

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