Characterization of FeS2 Thin Film Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis Method for Optoelectronic Applications

Abstract

In this work, the physical properties of iron sulfide (FeS 2 ) thin films deposited by the chemical spray-pyrolysis (CSP) technique were studied. The thin films are deposited on glass substrates at 200 o C, using FeCl 3 salt with thiourea (NH 2 ) 2 CS as precursors. Structural analysis of X-Ray diffraction manifested that the thin films contain two phases: Marcasite and Pyrite in planes (110), (111) at angles 2θ =26.3°, 2θ =28.3° respectively. Optical properties analysis showed that the prepared iron sulfide thin-films were highly absorbing in the UV-Visible range and the absorption coefficient was in the range of 1.6x10 5 cm-1 with a relatively low resistivity of about 0.49 (Ω.cm). The calculated activation energy (Ea) was 0.024 eV and the bandgap value was 2.45 eV. Moreover, the FeS2 thin films were also deposited on (CdO) to fabricate a heterojunction photocell. In conclusion, there is the feasibility of preparing low-cost and highly absorbing iron sulfide (FeS 2 ) thin films for optoelectronic applications with acceptable homogeneity using the spray-pyrolysis technique.