Issue 2, 2021

Towards defect-free thin films of the earth-abundant absorber zinc phosphide by nanopatterning

Abstract

Large-scale deployment of thin-film photovoltaics will be facilitated through earth-abundant components. Herein, selective area epitaxy and lateral overgrowth epitaxy are explored for the growth of zinc phosphide (Zn3P2), a promising earth-abundant absorber. The ideal growth conditions are elucidated, and the nucleation of single-crystal nanopyramids that subsequently evolve towards coalesced thin-films is demonstrated. The zinc phosphide pyramids exhibit room temperature bandgap luminescence at 1.53 eV, indicating a high-quality material. The electrical properties of zinc phosphide and the junction with the substrate are assessed by conductive atomic force microscopy on n-type, p-type and intrinsic substrates. The measurements are consistent with the p-type characteristic of zinc phosphide. Overall, this constitutes a new, and transferrable, approach for the controlled and tunable growth of high-quality zinc phosphide, a step forward in the quest for earth-abundant photovoltaics.

Graphical abstract: Towards defect-free thin films of the earth-abundant absorber zinc phosphide by nanopatterning

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
10 Oct 2020
Accepted
15 Nov 2020
First published
23 Nov 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2021,3, 326-332

Towards defect-free thin films of the earth-abundant absorber zinc phosphide by nanopatterning

S. Escobar Steinvall, E. Z. Stutz, R. Paul, M. Zamani, N. Y. Dzade, V. Piazza, M. Friedl, V. de Mestral, J. Leran, R. R. Zamani and A. Fontcuberta i Morral, Nanoscale Adv., 2021, 3, 326 DOI: 10.1039/D0NA00841A

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