Characterization of photovoltaics with In2S3 nanoflakes/p-Si heterojunction

We demonstrate that heterojunction photovoltaics based on hydrothermal-grown In2S3 on p-Si were fabricated and characterized in the paper. An n-type In2S3 nanoflake-based film with unique 'cross-linked network' structure was grown on the prepared p-type silicon substrate. It was found that the bandgap energy of such In2S3 film is 2.5 eV by optical absorption spectra. This unique nanostructure significantly enhances the surface area of the In2S3 films, leading to obtain lower reflectance spectra as the thickness of In2S3 film was increased. Additionally, such a nanostructure resulted in a closer spacing between the cross-linked In2S3 nanostructures and formed more direct conduction paths for electron transportation. Thus, the short-circuit current density (Jsc) was effectively improved by using a suitable thickness of In2S3. The power conversion efficiency (PCE, η) of the AZO/In2S3/textured p-Si heterojunction solar cell with 100-nm-thick In2S3 film was 2.39%.