Study on the impact of stoichiometric and optimal compositional ratios on physical properties of Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

Courel, Maykel; Picquart, M.; Arce‐Plaza, Antonio; Pulgarín-Agudelo, F.A.; González-Castillo, J. R.; Santos, I. Montoya De Los; Vigil‐Galán, O.

doi:10.1088/2053-1591/aaa720

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The influence of compositional variation along with the substrate temperature on the characteristics of CZTS films prepared under an optimal composition Cu 1.6 Zn 1.1 Sn 0.9 S 4 and stoichiometric composition Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 was studied in the range of 633 to 693 K by Courel et al The authors attempted to clarify the reasons behind the lower cell efficiency when CZTS is used under stoichiometric compositional ratio. The acetate form of the precursor was used for Zn, and chloride form was used for copper and tin, and thiourea is used for sulfur.…”

Section: Effect Of Process Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film

et al. 2019

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Summary The progress of solar cell technology in the development of clean and economic quaternary compound copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS)‐based absorber thin films using the spray pyrolysis technique are presented in this review. CZTS (Cu2ZnSnS4) is the only potential competitor for the existing solar thin film absorbing materials owing to its environment‐friendly Earth abundant constituents. Even though different nonvacuum thin film technologies have been developed for the large area fabrication of this nontoxic absorber material, spray pyrolysis technique offers more versatility in changing the process parameters which has a direct impact on the cell efficiency. It can be used for depositing a wide variety of materials even with complex composition with good crystallinity, and the method has the advantage of being flexible and straightforward to design and can be quickly adopted for extensive area deposition. A survey on the effects of experimental conditions as well as the nature of precursors on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties on the spray pyrolyzed CZTS thin films is discussed in detail. This analysis certainly could provide a potential to obtain new insights in the fabrication of high‐efficiency CZTS‐based solar cells and to launch it into the commercial market to satisfy the ever‐growing future energy demand.

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Section: Effect Of Process Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film

et al. 2019

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“…It is also important to highlight the fact that compositions close to the stoichiometric are obtained for the temperature of 400 °C. Despite Cu-poor samples are obtained, the condition of Zn-rich samples is not fulfilling which could result in the formation of poor crystalline quality as previously demonstrated [22] . Therefore, for this temperature the optimum compositions relationships were not achieved.…”

Section: Film Deposited At 400 °Cmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The results for different temperatures are shown in Table 1. The main planes that contribute to X-ray diffraction are (112), (220) and (312) which can be attributed to the compound CZTS [17,22] . Although the film grown at 420 °C showed a greater contribution to the diffraction of the plane (112) in Figure 1, the film grown at 400 °C has a better crystalline quality.…”

Section: X-ray Diffraction Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the physical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by pneumatic spray pyrolysis technique

Courel

Nicolás

Vigil‐Galán

2021

ACE

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The acquisition of new materials for the manufacturing of high efficiency and low-cost photovoltaic devices has currently become a challenge. Thin films of CuInGaSe and CdTe have been widely used in solar cell of second generation, achieving efficiencies about 20 %; however, the low abundance of In and Te as well as the toxicity of Cd is the primary obstacles to their industrial production. Compounds such as Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 have emerged as an important and less costly alternative for efficient energy conversion in the future. In addition, these compounds have the required characteristics to be used as an absorber material in solar cells (band-gap close to 1.4 eV, an absorption coefficient greater than 104 cm-1 and a p-type conductivity). In this work, we present a study of the structural, compositional, morphological and optical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique as well as their dependence on temperature.

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“…The synthesis of kesterites-based absorber layers in an ambient environment using this technique was first reported by Nakayama in 1997 [121]. Following this work, different reports on the spray pyrolysis technique have been published, where the precursor type, substrate temperature, post thermal treatments and solution pH have been investigated [122][123][124][125]. The substrate temperature in particular, is a key process parameter, as it can influence both the morphology and the stoichiometry of the final film [126].…”

Section: Spray Coatingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solution-based synthesis of kesterite thin film semiconductors

Todorov¹,

Hillhouse

Aazou

et al. 2020

J. Phys. Energy

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Large-scale deployment of photovoltaic modules is required to power our renewable energy future. Kesterite, Cu 2 ZnSn(S, Se) 4 , is a p-type semiconductor absorber layer with a tunable bandgap consisting of earth abundant elements, and is seen as a potential 'drop-in' replacement to Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 in thin film solar cells. Currently, the record light-to-electrical power conversion efficiency (PCE) of kesterite-based devices is 12.6%, for which the absorber layer has been solutionprocessed. This efficiency must be increased if kesterite technology is to help power the future. Therefore two questions arise: what is the best way to synthesize the film? And how to improve the device efficiency? Here, we focus on the first question from a solution-based synthesis perspective. The main strategy is to mix all the elements together initially and coat them on a surface, followed by annealing in a reactive chalcogen atmosphere to react, grow grains and sinter the film. The main difference between the methods presented here is how easily the solvent, ligands, and anions are removed. Impurities impair the ability to achieve high performance (>∼10% PCE) in kesterite devices. Hydrazine routes offer the least impurities, but have environmental and safety concerns associated with hydrazine. Aprotic and protic based molecular inks are environmentally friendlier and less toxic, but they require the removal of organic and halogen species associated with the solvent and precursors, which is challenging but possible. Nanoparticle routes consisting of kesterite (or binary chalcogenides) particles require the removal of stabilizing ligands from their surfaces. Electrodeposited layers contain few impurities but are sometimes difficult to make compositionally uniform over large areas, and for metal deposited layers, they have to go through several solid-state reaction steps to form kesterite. Hence, each method has distinct advantages and disadvantages. We review the stateof-the art of each and provide perspective on the different strategies.

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Study on the impact of stoichiometric and optimal compositional ratios on physical properties of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film

Study on the physical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by pneumatic spray pyrolysis technique

Solution-based synthesis of kesterite thin film semiconductors

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Study on the impact of stoichiometric and optimal compositional ratios on physical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 chalcogenide absorber thin film

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 chalcogenide absorber thin film

Study on the physical properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films deposited by pneumatic spray pyrolysis technique

Solution-based synthesis of kesterite thin film semiconductors

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Study on the impact of stoichiometric and optimal compositional ratios on physical properties of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ chalcogenide absorber thin film