Impact of growth temperature on the properties of SnS film prepared by thermal evaporation and its photovoltaic performance

• SnS film was grown by thermal evaporation under varying growth temperature (Tg).
• SnS film with dense and large grains was obtained with increasing Tg up to 225 °C.
• Under Tg of above 150 °C, Sn2S3 secondary phase was not detected in SnS film.
• The highest Hall mobility was observed under Tg of 200 °C.
• 2.53%-efficient SnS solar cell was achieved under Tg of 200 °C.

Tin(II) sulfide (SnS) films are one of the most promising absorber materials for high efficiency solar cells without using rare metals. In this work, SnS films were deposited by the thermal evaporation on glass substrates under the variation of growth temperatures of 100–250 °C. It was revealed that the SnS thin film prepared under the temperature of 100 °C had relatively small crystal grains. On the other hand, the denser and larger crystal grains of the SnS films were obtained with the constant compositions, when the growth temperature increased to 225 °C. With the temperature of higher than 225 °C, the SnS began to be re-evaporated from the films. The highest Hall mobility of the films was obtained under the temperature of 200 °C. Ultimately, the results suggested that the optimized growth temperature of SnS by the evaporation is 200 °C, giving rise to compact and large crystal grains and the highest Hall mobility, thereby contributing to the 2.53%-efficient SnS thin-film solar cell.