Nanosecond Carrier Lifetimes in Solution-Processed Enargite (Cu3AsS4) Thin Films

By Scott Andrew McClary, Mohammad M. Taheri, Daria D. Blach, Apurva A. Pradhan, Siming Li, Libai Huang, Jason B. Baxter, Rakesh Agrawal

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License

DOI

10.7277/T91W-B374

Category

Engineering - Materials

Principle Investigator (PI)

Rakesh Agrawal

Published on

Oct 17, 2020

Abstract

Enargite (ENG) Cu3AsS4 is a promising material for photovoltaic applications due to its constituent earth abundant elements of differing ionic radii, ideal predicted optoelectronic properties, and demonstrated use in a working thin-film solar cell. However, little is known about ENG’s defect properties; such knowledge is necessary to assess its potential for future use in high-efficiency devices. One indicator of a material’s quality is its photogenerated carrier lifetime, which can be related to its bulk defect properties. Here, we use a combination of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy (TRTS) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) to assess carrier dynamics in ENG thin films processed from nanoparticle precursors. The Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) lifetimes are on the multi-nanosecond scale, a promising value for an emerging material. These results suggest that ENG is worthy of further research and development efforts with an eye towards future photovoltaic applications.

Cite this work

  • Scott Andrew McClary; Mohammad M. Taheri; Daria D. Blach; Apurva A. Pradhan; Siming Li; Libai Huang; Jason B. Baxter; Rakesh Agrawal (2020), "Nanosecond Carrier Lifetimes in Solution-Processed Enargite (Cu3AsS4) Thin Films," https://datacenterhub.org/deedsdv/publications/view/205.

Keywords

enargite, solar cells, thin films, photovoltaic materials, time-resolved photoluminescence, THz spectroscopy