Sputtering of Molybdenum as a Promising Back Electrode Candidate for Superstrate Structured Sb ₂S ₃ Solar Cells

Abstract

Sb ₂S ₃ is rapidly developed as light absorber material for solar cells due to its excellent photoelectric properties. However, the use of the organic hole transport layer of Spiro‐OMeTAD and gold (Au) in Sb ₂S ₃ solar cells imposes serious problems in stability and cost. In this work, low‐cost molybdenum (Mo) prepared by magnetron sputtering is demonstrated to serve as a back electrode in superstrate structured Sb ₂S ₃ solar cells for the first time. And a multifunctional layer of Se is inserted between Sb ₂S ₃/Mo interface by evaporation, which plays vital roles as: i) soft loading of high‐energy Mo particles with the help of cottonlike‐Se layer; ii) formation of surficial Sb ₂Se ₃ on Sb ₂S ₃ layer, and then reducing hole transportation barrier. To further alleviate the roll‐over effect, a pre‐selenide Mo target and consequentially form a MoSe ₂ is skillfully sputtered, which is expected to manipulate the band alignment and render an enhanced holes extraction. Impressively, the device with an optimized Mo electrode achieves an efficiency of 5.1%, which is one of the highest values among non‐noble metal electrode based Sb ₂S ₃ solar cells. This work sheds light on the potential development of low‐cost metal electrodes for superstrate Sb ₂S ₃ devices by carefully designing the back contact interface.

Abstract

Sb ₂S ₃ is regarded as one of candidate materials for tandem top cells. Here Mo as back electrode is employed in superstrate structured Sb ₂S ₃ solar cells for the first time, rendering a low cost and high stability. The mechanism of Mo deposition and device efficiency improvement are also explored in detail.