PbSe Thin Films in All-Chemically Deposited Solar Cells

We report on PbSe thin films serving as an absorber in solar cell structures, . The cells are prepared by sequential chemical deposition of the films on a commercial coated sheet glass. These cells show of 690 mV and of and a conversion efficiency of 0.69% under sunlight. Two distinct routes are taken to deposit PbSe thin films of 100–250 nm thickness: -dimethylselenourea (SU) or sodium selenosulfate (SS) as the source of selenide ions in the bath. These films are p-type with an electrical conductivity of and optical bandgaps of 0.68 eV (SU) and 0.85 eV (SS) at a film thickness of 150 nm. Without the PbSe absorber, a cell has of 595 mV, but its is low, . In (SU or SS) cells, is higher by a factor of thousand, and it is consistently higher for a larger PbSe film thickness. Thus, PbSe performs the role of a optical absorber in the cell, contributing to the of the cell.