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Title: V x In (2–x) S 3 Intermediate Band Absorbers Deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division
  2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division; Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological and Chemical Sciences
  3. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Frederick Seitz Materials Research Lab.
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nanoscience and Technology Division
  5. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division; Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biological and Chemical Sciences
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Substitutional alloys of several thin film semiconductors have been proposed as intermediate band (IB) materials for use in next-generation photovoltaics, which aim to utilize a larger fraction of the solar spectrum without sacrificing significant photovoltage. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to IB material growth, namely atomic layer deposition (ALD), to enable unique control over substitutional-dopant location and density. Two new ALD processes for vanadium sulfide incorporation are introduced, one of which incorporates a vanadium (III) amidinate previously untested for ALD. We synthesize the first thin film VxIn(2-x)S3 intermediate band semiconductors, using this process, and further demonstrate that the V:In ratio, and therefore intraband gap density of states, can be finely tuned according to the ALD dosing schedule. Deposition on a crystalline In2S3 underlayer promotes the growth of a tetragonal β-In2S3-like phase VxIn(2-x)S3, which exhibits a distinct sub-band gap absorption peak with onset near 1.1 eV in agreement with computational predictions. But, the VxIn(2-x)S3 films lack the lower energy transition predicted for a partially filled IB, and photoelectrochemical devices reveal a photocurrent response only from illumination with energy sufficient to span the parent band-gap.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1352646
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 7; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 30 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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  • Genevée, Pascal; Donsanti, Frédérique; Schneider, Nathanaelle
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 31, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4768919
journal January 2013
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Cited By (6)

New insights on the nature of impurity levels in V-doped In 2 S 3 : why is it impossible to obtain a metallic intermediate band? journal January 2019
Properties of In 2 S 3 -Based pin -Heterojunctions journal March 2018
The Rise of 2D Photothermal Materials beyond Graphene for Clean Water Production journal January 2020
Alloying-assisted phonon engineering of layered BiInSe 3 @nickel foam for efficient solar-enabled water evaporation journal January 2017
Solar‐Inspired Water Purification Based on Emerging 2D Materials: Status and Challenges journal January 2020
An efficient solar-enabled 2D layered alloy material evaporator for seawater desalination journal January 2018

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