Experimental determination of vacuum-level band alignments of SnS-based solar cells by photoelectron yield spectroscopy

Energy band offsets of SnS-based solar cell structure using various n-type semiconductors, such as CdS, SnS2, In2S3, ZnIn2Se4, ZnO, and Mg0.3In0.7O, are evaluated by photoelectron yield spectroscopy. The valence band discontinuities are estimated to be 1.6 eV for both SnS/CdS and SnS/SnS2, 0.9 eV for SnS/In2S3, 1.7 eV for SnS/ZnIn2Se4, and 1.8 eV for both SnS/ZnO and SnS/Mg0.3Zn0.7O. Using the valence band discontinuity values and the corresponding energy bandgaps of the layers, energy band diagrams are developed. This study implied a type-I heterostructure, appropriate for SnS-based solar cell, for the ZnIn2Se4 or MgxZn1−xO (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) interface and type-II for other junctions.