Effect of annealing under different atmospheres of CZTS thin films as absorber layer for solar cell application

Chamekh, Samia; Khémiri, N.; Kanzari, M.

doi:10.1007/s42452-020-03287-9

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…62 However, these experimental E g values are in the range of the ideal absorber layer band gap for high-efficiency solar cells. 63 One should note that the optical band gap of all films does not seem to be affected by the presence of the SnS 2 secondary phase observed in all samples, which may increase the value of the CZTS films due to its large band gap (≈2.2 eV). 33 This confirms that SnS 2 is present in a small amount in the samples.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The fluctuations noticed in the computed band gaps might be due to the different elemental compositions of the films . However, these experimental E g values are in the range of the ideal absorber layer band gap for high-efficiency solar cells . One should note that the optical band gap of all films does not seem to be affected by the presence of the SnS 2 secondary phase observed in all samples, which may increase the value of the CZTS films due to its large band gap (≈2.2 eV) .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

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A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

et al. 2022

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Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is regarded as one of the emerging materials for next-generation thin film solar cells. However, its synthesis is complex, and obtaining a single-phase CZTS thin film is difficult. This work reports the elaboration of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 thin films by a sequential magnetron sputtering deposition of Cu 2 SnS 3 (CTS) and ZnS as stacked films. Initially, the CTS films were prepared on a soda lime glass substrate by annealing Cu and SnS 2 stacked layers. Second, ZnS was deposited by magnetron sputtering on the CTS films. The CTS\ZnS stacks were then annealed in Sn + S or S atmospheres. The tetragonal CZTS structure was obtained and confirmed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The morphological and compositional characteristics, measured by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy, revealed large grains and dense surfaces with the elemental composition close to the intended stoichiometry. Additional X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements were performed to determine the surface chemistry and particularities of the obtained films. The optical properties, determined using conventional spectroscopy, showed optimal absorber layer band gap values ranging between 1.38 and 1.50 eV. The electrical measurements showed that all the films are p-type with high carrier concentrations in the range of 10 15 to 10 20 cm –3 . This new synthesis route for CZTS opens the way to obtain high-quality films by an industry-compatible method.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

et al. 2022

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“…Similar XRD patterns have been reported earlier for CZTS. [1,6,7,18] Figure 2 shows dark and light I-V characteristics of CZTS films in a PEC containing 0.1 M sodium acetate where the films were grown by 1) sequential and 2) single-step electrodeposition methods, respectively. Both characteristics curves show cathodic photocurrents in the entire voltage domain and increase with the negative bias showing the typical p-type behavior of the films.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 1 ] In fact, the bandgap of CZTS matches well with the theoretically predicted ideal bandgap of a semiconductor which can absorb a good part of the solar spectrum and produces good solar cell outputs. [ 2 ] On the other hand, CZTS material has an additional advantage because it can be prepared by several methods such as sputtering, [ 3,4 ] thermal evaporation, [ 5,6 ] spray pyrolysis, [ 7,8 ] sol–gel technique, [ 9,10 ] and electrodeposition. [ 11,12 ] In the literature, it has been reported that PV devices fabricated with CZTS films prepared with different techniques demonstrate the efficiency dependence on growth techniques.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Study: Sequential and Single‐Step‐Electrodeposited CZTS Thin Films

Fernando

Jayathilaka

Wijesundera

et al. 2022

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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CZTS (Cu2ZnSnS4) is a relatively new and promising semiconductor material suitable for photovoltaic applications due to its favorable optoelectronic properties. Of the many techniques available for growing these films, a comparative study on sequential and single‐step electrodeposition methods to grow CZTS films is carried out in this investigation to explore the possibility of improving the quality of the films using the inexpensive electrodeposition technique. Mainly in both methods, potentiostatic electrodeposition technique is adopted for growing CZTS thin films. In both methods, growth conditions of the CZTS films are optimized after measuring the photoresponses in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell of the films that resulted at the end of each deposition step. The observed structural and optoelectronic properties of the films reveal that, in general, structurally good and photoactive CZTS films can be prepared using both methods. Moreover, photoresponse and Mott–Schottky measurements on CZTS films in a PEC reveal that CZTS films prepared using the single‐step electrodeposition have better photoactive properties and improved doping densities. This important finding shows that when developing CZTS‐based solar cells using the inexpensive electrodeposition technique, single‐step electrodeposition is more advantageous.

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“…Earth abundant raw material and nontoxic nature of the CZTS enable it as a precise absorber candidate for the PV technology to replace other costly and toxic absorbers. The CZTS absorber exhibits several advantages such as direct energy band gap in the range from 1.4 to 1.6 eV, large light absorption coefficient (>10 4 cm −1 ), economical fabrication process, and high stability, which facilitate it as a very reliable candidate of the TFSC for the commercial production 24–30 . An efficiency of 6.7% has been obtained for the experimentally fabricated CZTS‐based solar cell 27 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Performance evaluation of WS₂ as buffer and Sb₂S₃ as hole transport layer in CZTS solar cell by numerical simulation

Riyad

Sunny

Khatun

et al. 2022

Engineering Reports

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This study reports on performance enhancement of a Cu2ZnSnS4 solar cell introducing Sb2S3 as hole transport layer (HTL) along WS2 as buffer layer. We have investigated photovoltaic (PV) characteristics by utilizing SCAPS‐1D. A comparative analysis on PV performances between conventional CZTS/CdS and proposed Ni/Sb2S3/CZTS/WS2/FTO/Al solar cells is presented. It is revealed that “spike like” band structure at the CZTS/WS2 interface having smaller conduction band offset makes it potential alternative to commonly used CdS buffer. This report also evaluates that the Sb2S3 as an HTL inserted at the rear of CZTS enhances performances by reducing carrier recombination at back interface with appropriate band alignment. The impacts of thickness, carrier concentration of different layers, and bulk defect density in CZTS as well as the interface defects on cell outputs are analyzed. The influences of temperature, work function, and cell resistances are also examined. Optimum absorber thickness of 1.0 μm along doping density of 1017 cm−3 is selected. A maximum efficiency of 30.63% is achieved for the optimized CZTS cell. Therefore, these results suggest that Sb2S3 as HTL and WS2 as buffer layer can be employed effectively to develop highly efficient and low‐cost CZTS solar cells.

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Effect of annealing under different atmospheres of CZTS thin films as absorber layer for solar cell application

Cited by 11 publications

References 35 publications

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

A Comparative Study: Sequential and Single‐Step‐Electrodeposited CZTS Thin Films

Performance evaluation of WS₂ as buffer and Sb₂S₃ as hole transport layer in CZTS solar cell by numerical simulation

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Effect of annealing under different atmospheres of CZTS thin films as absorber layer for solar cell application

Cited by 11 publications

References 35 publications

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 Films from Cu2SnS3\ZnS Stacks

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 Films from Cu2SnS3\ZnS Stacks

A Comparative Study: Sequential and Single‐Step‐Electrodeposited CZTS Thin Films

Performance evaluation of WS2 as buffer and Sb2S3 as hole transport layer in CZTS solar cell by numerical simulation

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A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

A Two-Step Magnetron Sputtering Approach for the Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Films from Cu₂SnS₃\ZnS Stacks

Performance evaluation of WS₂ as buffer and Sb₂S₃ as hole transport layer in CZTS solar cell by numerical simulation