Complex impedance spectroscopy of Sn4Sb6S13 thin films deposited by thermal vacuum evaporation.

In the current article, we studied the effect of substrate temperature on the morphological and electrical behavior of sulfosalt material Sn 4 Sb 6 S 13 deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation procedure on glass substrate heated at various temperatures in the range of 30–200 °C. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that Sn 4 Sb 6 S 13 thin films crystallized in monoclinic structure according to a preferential direction 6 ¯ 11 and the average grain size increases by increasing substrate temperature. Atomic force microscopy was used to characterize the surface morphology of the layers. Electrical and dielectric properties have been investigated by ac impedance spectroscopy over a wide range of temperature up to 400 °C starting from room temperature in the frequency range 5 Hz–13 MHz. The complex impedance plots display a single semicircle that highlights the influences of grain on the films. Impedance analyses showed that the resistance decreased by increasing the temperature. In addition, the analysis of conductivity shows that the conduction mechanism was thermally activated and was assured by hopping between localized states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]