Thin Solid Films, Vol.645, 409-416, 2018
X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of sulfurized tin thin films deposited by thermal evaporation
In this paper, we report the structural properties of tin sulfide (SnS) thin films deposited by a technique involving thermal evaporation and sulfurization. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to determine the crystallinity and elemental composition of the sulfurized tin thin films. With increasing sulfurization temperature, Sn and its native oxide reacted with S, yielding SnS. XRD showed evidence of crystal growth along the SnS [040] direction in films sulfurized at 260 and 300 degrees C. The growth of SnS crystals was completed at 300 degrees C, and stoichiometry was the highest. Depth profiles of the composition measured by XPS showed a flat sulfur concentration towards the interior of the film sulfurized at 300 degrees C. The hole concentration was 1.6 x10(15) cm(-3). The films showed a band gap of 1.2 eV and an absorption coefficient of > 10(4) cm(-1).