Optical properties of amorphous and polycrystalline Sb2Se3 thin films prepared by thermal evaporation

Sb2Se3 is a very promising photovoltaic material because of its attractive material, optical and electrical properties. Very recently, we reported a superstrate CdS/Sb2Se3 solar cell with 5.6% certified efficiency. In this letter, we focused on the optical properties of amorphous and polycrystalline Sb2Se3 thin films prepared by thermal evaporation. Using temperature dependent transmission spectrum and temperature dependent photoluminescence, the indirect optical transition nature and bandgap values as functions of temperature were acquired. Using ellipsometry measurements and Swanepoel's envelope method, the refractive indices as well as the dielectric constant in a wide wavelength range of 193-2615nm were obtained. These works would lay the foundation for the further development of Sb2Se3 thin film solar cells. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.