Barman B.Bangera K.V.Shivakumar G.K.2021-05-052021-05-052020Solar Energy Vol. 206 , , p. 479 - 486https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.06.026https://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/16740Zinc sulfide (ZnS) and tin sulfide (SnS) are crucial semiconductors with potential use in various opto-electronic applications. By incorporating ZnS and SnS to form ZnxSn1-xS thin film, one can expect exceptional opto-electrical properties due to their large band gap dissimilarity. Herein, thin films of ZnxSn1-xS (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) were successfully deposited on glass substrates using a thermal evaporation method for the first time and its various properties were analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the polycrystalline behavior of ZnxSn1-xS films with a preferred orientation along the (1 1 1) plane. The absence of any secondary peaks along with the shift in the (1 1 1) peak position to lower 2θ values with increasing Zn concentration confirmed the formation of a solid solution. SEM analysis depicted the presence of uniform and homogeneous films. The formation of nearly stoichiometric ZnxSn1-xS films was verified using an energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The electrical and optical properties of the films were estimated from the two-probe method and UV–Vis spectroscopy, respectively. The energy band gap values decreased from 3.49 eV to 1.54 eV as the composition of the ZnxSn1-xS films was varied. The various opto-electrical parameters were investigated and the photosensitivity was found highest at 43.38 for the Zn0.10Sn0.90S films. The observed tunable opto-electrical properties of the ZnxSn1-xS films suggests that the films can be utilized for a wide range of opto-electronic applications. © 2020 International Solar Energy SocietyArticle