Crystalline Antimony Selenide Thin Films for Optoelectronics through Photonic Curing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photovoltaics
• Thin Film Deposition

Background:

• Thermal annealing is standard for crystallizing antimony selenide (Sb₂Se₃) thin films.
• Current methods are slow and energy-intensive, hindering commercialization for photovoltaics.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate photonic curing (PC) as a rapid annealing technique for Sb₂Se₃ films.
• Evaluate the impact of PC conditions on Sb₂Se₃ phase conversion and film properties.

Main Methods:

• Adapted millisecond light pulse annealing (photonic curing) for Sb₂Se₃ films.
• Analyzed crystalline, morphological, and optical properties under varying PC conditions.

Main Results:

• Sb₂Se₃ readily converts to crystalline phases under PC.
• Optimal conditions (long pulses, 4-5 J cm^-2) yield (211)/(221)-oriented crystals with minimal damage.
• Short pulses (<3 ms) cause significant sample damage.

Conclusions:

• Photonic curing is a viable, high-throughput method for Sb₂Se₃ annealing.
• Optimized PC enables the production of high-quality Sb₂Se₃ films for photovoltaic applications.
• A proof-of-concept photovoltaic device using PC Sb₂Se₃ was successfully demonstrated.