Studies on Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) absorber layer using different stacking orders in precursor thin films

Seung Wook Shin, S. M. Pawar, Chan Young Park, Jae Ho Yun, Jong Ha Moon, Jin Hyeok Kim, Jeong Yong Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

264 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited by sputtering on glass substrates using stacked precursors. The stacked precursor thin films were prepared from Cu, SnS2 and ZnS targets at room temperature with different stacking orders of Cu/SnS2/ZnS/glass (A), ZnS/Cu/SnS2/glass (B) and SnS2/ZnS/Cu/glass (C). The stacked precursor thin films were sulfurized using a tubular rapid thermal annealing system in a mixed N2 (95%)H2S (5%) atmosphere at 550 °C for 10 min. The effects of the stacking order in the precursor thin films on the structural, morphological, chemical, electrical and optical properties of the CZTS thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies showed that the annealed CZTS thin film using a stacking order A had a single kesterite crystal structure without secondary phases, whereas stacking orders B and C have a kesterite phase with secondary phases, such as Cu2-xS, SnS 2 and SnS. The annealed CZTS thin film using stacking order A showed a very dense morphology without voids. On the other hand, the annealed CZTS thin films using stacking orders B and C contained the volcano shape voids (B) and Sn-based secondary phases (C) on the surface of the annealed thin films. The direct band gap energies of the CZTS thin films were approximately 1.45 eV (A), 1.35 eV (B) and 1.1 eV (C).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3202-3206
Number of pages5
JournalSolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Volume95
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2011
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work is supported by Energy R&D program ( 2008-N-PV08-P-08 ) under the Korea Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and partially by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MEST-No. 2011-0001002 ).

Keywords

  • CuZnSnS (CZTS) absorber
  • Sputtering technique
  • Stacked precursor thin films
  • Thin film solar cells (TFSCs)

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