The comparative study of the photoelectric properties of crystalline and glassy SnGeS3

Comparative investigations of the steady-state characteristics of the photoconductivity for crystalline and glassy tin thiogermanate (SnGeS3) in the temperature range of 100–500 K were performed. It was determined that the loss of the long-range order in SnGeS3 at the crystal-glass transition results in the shift of the fundamental absorption edge to the long-wave region of the spectrum, disappearance of the absorption edge anisotropy and photoconductivity (PC) spectra, and reduction of the electrical conductivity. The presence of the same impurity peaks in PC spectra and the peaks on thermally stimulated current (TSC) curves and the identical character of temperature dependences of photoconductivity and lux-ampere characteristics (LAC) indicate the same type of defects, which generate the localized electronic states in the gap, controlling the processes of trapping and recombination in crystalline and glassy phases of SnGeS3.