Fabrication and microstructure of p-type transparent conducting CuS thin film and its application in dye-sensitized solar cell

By reducing film thickness to a few nanometers, the narrow-band-gap CuS turns highly transparent. Surface modification by a self- assembled monolayer is the key factor to obtain a thin, dense, and continuous film. The film growth mechanism is identified as "layer-by-layer growth followed by islanding." After annealing, a p-type conductivity of similar to 2 x 10(3) S cm(-1) is achieved at room temperature, and the thinnest conductive film has an average transparency of 92% between 400 and 800 nm. Using p-type CuS films as front contact layers, a dye-sensitized solar cell was fabricated with a significant photoelectric response. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.