Optoelectronic Properties of Strontium and Barium Copper Sulfides Prepared by Combinatorial Sputtering

Optically transparent materials with p-type electrical conductivity can facilitate the development of transparent electronics and improve the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells. Sulfide materials represent an interesting alternative to oxides for these applications due to better hole transport properties. Here, transparent and conductive Ba–Cu–S thin films are prepared by combinatorial cosputtering and characterized for their composition, structure, and optoelectronic properties. The conductivity and transparency of these films are found to be strongly dependent on their chemical composition and the substrate temperature during growth. The conductivity of BaCu2S2 and BaCu4S3 can reach 53 S/cm (at 250 °C) and 74 S/cm (at 200 °C), respectively, which is higher than their solution processed/bulk counterparts. The 90% reflectance corrected transmittance is achieved in the wavelength range 600–1000 nm for BaCu2S2 and 650–1000 nm for BaCu4S3 (at 250 °C). These electrical and optical properties are comparabl...