We report the photovoltaic properties of inorganic solid state solar cell based on ZnO-nanorod arrays with extremely thin absorbers. Two different absorbers are used; In₂S₃ prepared by spray ILGAR (ion layer gas reaction) and CuInS₂ by chemical spray pyrolysis. ZnO nanorod arrays are assuring the nano-structured of the substrate. CuSCN serves as hole conductor. Besides standard current-voltage and quantum efficiency measurements, the solar cells were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and surface photovoltage to characterize also the morphology of the structures, the bandgap and the defect-states within the bandgap.When using the In₂S₃ as absorber, a short-circuit current (J_sc)of 10 mA cm^-2 is recorded. The J_sc decreases with increasing the thickness of the In₂S₃ absorber. The open-circuit potential increases with increasing thickness and values between 0.5 and 0.7 V are recorded. In the case of using CuInS₂ as absorber both the short-circuit current and the open-circuit potential increase with increasing thickness of the CuInS₂ film.