Physical properties of chemically deposited Sb2S3 thin films

Semiconducting Sb2S3 thin films were prepared on SnO2:(F)/glass substrates from an aqueous medium using chemical bath techniques at low temperatures (40–70 °C). X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the films are well crystallized with the stibnite structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals homogenous and well distributed spherical grains, indicating the formation of uniform thin films. The Sb2S3 films display good optical properties with a direct band gap of about 2.30 eV. The refractive index (n) of the investigated films was determined from optical reflectance data with a value in the range of 2.5 to 3.3.