Sb Se Thin-Film Solar Cells Exceeding 10% Power Conversion Efficiency Enabled by Injection Vapor Deposition Technology.

Binary Sb Se semiconductors are promising as the absorber materials in inorganic chalcogenide compound photovoltaics due to their attractive anisotropic optoelectronic properties. However, Sb Se solar cells suffer from complex and unconventional intrinsic defects due to the low symmetry of the quasi-1D crystal structure resulting in a considerable voltage deficit, which limits the ultimate power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this work, the creation of compact Sb Se films with strong [00l] orientation, high crystallinity, minimal deep level defect density, fewer trap states, and low non-radiative recombination loss by injection vapor deposition is reported. This deposition technique enables superior films compared with close-spaced sublimation and coevaporation technologies. The resulting Sb Se thin-film solar cells yield a PCE of 10.12%, owing to the suppressed carrier recombination and excellent carrier transport and extraction. This method thus opens a new and effective avenue for the fabrication of high-quality Sb Se and other high-quality chalcogenide semiconductors.