Simplified Route for Deposition of Binary and Ternary Bismuth Sulphide Thin Films for Solar Cell Applications

For photovoltaic applications, undoped and Ni2+ doped Bi2S3 thin films were chemically deposited onto glass substrates at room temperature. Elemental diffraction analysis confirmed the successful Ni2+ incorporation in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 at. %, while X-ray Diffraction analysis revealed that orthorhombic crystal lattice of Bi2S3 was conserved while transferring from binary to ternary phase. Scanning electron microscopy images reported homogeneous and crack-free morphology of the obtained films. Optoelectronic analysis revealed that the bandgap value was shifted from 1.7 to 1.1 eV. Ni2+ incorporation also improved the carrier concentration, leading to higher electrical conductivity. Resultant optoelectronic behavior of ternary Bi2-x NixS3 thin films suggests that doping is proved to be an effectual tool to optimize the photovoltaic response of Bi2S3 for solar cell applications.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that chemically deposited Ni2+ doped Bi2S3 thin films exhibit a homogeneous and crack-free morphology. The incorporation of Ni2+ improves the optoelectronic properties and enhances both the bandgap value and electrical conductivity, thereby optimizing the photovoltaic response of Bi2S3 for solar cell applications.