Effect of Se source on properties of spray deposited Sb2Se3 thin films

Semiconducting p-Sb2Se3 thin films have been spray deposited using two Se sources viz. SeO2 and (CSe(NH2)2) at their optimised preparative parameters of deposition. The film thickness is of the order of 0.5 μm. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the as-deposited films prepared using SeO2 as a Se source are amorphous while those prepared using (CSe(NH2)2) are polycrystalline with orthorhombic crystal structure. Optical gap of the amorphous film is found to be 1.28 eV, while that of the polycrystalline film has 1.26 eV. Polycrystalline films have dark resistivity in the order of 107 Ω cm whereas amorphous films have in the order of 105–106 Ω cm. Thermoelectric power (TEP) measurement studies reveal that both the films show p-type conductivity with the Seebeck coefficient to be 45 μV/°C and 1.82 mV/°C for the polycrystalline and amorphous Sb2Se3 thin films, respectively.