Tin monosulfide (SnS) thin films grown by liquid-phase deposition

Tin monosulfide (SnS) is an earth-abundant semiconductor material and shows potential as an absorber for solar cells. However, it is difficult to obtain the pure SnS phase because other binary phases of Sn-S (SnS2, Sn2S3 and Sn3S4) are more favorable in air. In this report, solution and liquid precursors were used to fabricate pure SnS thin films on Mo-coated soda lime glass using a direct solution coating method and subsequent annealing at different reaction temperatures. Direct solution coating is an easy and rapid process for large-scale fabrication. Additionally, it allows for precise control of the thin film stoichiometry. The phase and morphology of the fabricated SnS thin films were confirmed by XRD, XPS, Raman and SEM. The films prepared using the solution precursor showed additional phases along with SnS. However, for the films prepared with the liquid precursor, only the SnS orthorhombic structure was observed.