Abstract

This study investigates the effects of post-annealing on the properties of thermally evaporated antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) thin films. The prepared samples were annealed at different temperatures of 150, 200, 250 and 300 °C for half an hour. Different analytical techniques were used to investigate the properties of the annealed samples. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of orthorhombic Sb2Se3 in all samples, while variations in diffraction peak intensity and preferred orientation revealed a strong dependence of crystallographic texture on annealing temperature. EDX results indicated progressive selenium loss with increasing annealing temperature, particularly for the film annealed at 300 °C. AFM analysis showed that the 300 °C sample exhibited increased surface roughness compared with the films annealed at lower temperatures. All films demonstrated good optical absorption in the visible region with optical band-gap values ranging from approximately 1.0 to 1.3 eV, making them suitable for photovoltaic applications. Hall-effect measurements revealed significant changes in carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity as a function of annealing temperature. Among the investigated conditions, the film annealed at 250 °C exhibited the most favorable combination of structural quality and electrical performance, indicating that this temperature provides an optimal annealing condition for thermally evaporated Sb2Se3 thin films considered for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.

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