Structure and optical properties of SnS thin film prepared by pulse electrodeposition

SnS films were prepared by electrodeposition onto the indium–tin-oxide (ITO)-coated glass successfully. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern shows the orthorhombic structure and average grain size of the films is about 10 nm. The SnS films reflect a needle-like crystal structure with a tightly bonded together and these crystallites are also oriented randomly and exhibit nearly equal sizes. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicates that the atomic ratio of Sn to S is 50.6:49.4. The optical band gap of the films is evaluated using transmittance and reflectance data. From the optical measurement, the direct band gap of the thin film is estimated to be 1.34 eV.