The study of optical and electrical properties of AgInS2-based composite

Abstracts Photovoltaic solar energy was one of the few sustainable and pollution-free energy sources. AgInS 2 was a promising photovoltaic material, which had attracted considerable in long time due to its outstanding photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, the nanoparticles could improve the light absorption efficiency of absorption layer to enhance the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell. In this paper, the suitable preparation methods of AgInS 2 film and gold nanoparticles were used to improve the optical-electric performances of AgInS 2 -based solar cell. AgInS 2 films were prepared by vacuum evaporation using different raw materials (Ag + In + S and Ag 2 S + In 2 S 3 ) and then annealed at 400 °C or 425 °C. From absorption spectrum, the AgInS 2 film, which was prepared by two components (Ag2S + In2S3) and annealed at 400 °C, had the highest absorption. And the transmission spectrum of the AgInS 2 film was similar to that obtained from finite difference time domain simulation. Furthermore, this AgInS 2 film was used to prepare AgInS 2 /CdS PN junction and AgInS 2 /gold/CdS PN junction. Due to the introduction of gold nanoparticles, the forward current of the AgInS 2 /gold/CdS PN junction increased an order of magnitude, but ideal factor and barrier height decreased, which meant that gold nanoparticles can promote carrier transport and improve electric property. As a result, this AgInS 2 /gold/CdS PN junction owned high absorption efficiency, low reverse saturation current and large barrier height, which meant huge application potential in solar cells field.