We report on the fabrication of a 5.2% efficiency Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) solar cell made by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) featuring an ultra-thin absorber layer (less than 450 nm). Solutions to the issues of reproducibility and micro-particulate ejection often encountered with PLD are proposed. At the optimal laser fluence, amorphous CZTS precursors with optimal stoichiometry for solar cells are deposited from a single target. Such precursors do not result in detectable segregation of secondary phases after the subsequent annealing step. In the analysis of the solar cell device, we focus on the effects of the finite thickness of the absorber layer. Depletion region width, carrier diffusion length, and optical losses due to incomplete light absorption and back contact reflection are quantified. We conclude that material-and junction quality is comparable to that of thicker state-of-the-art CZTS devices, even though the efficiency is lower due to optical losses.

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 Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.  You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain  You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

No abstract

Thin films of ZnS and Cu 2 SnS 3 have been produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), the latter for the first time. The effect of fluence and deposition temperature on the structure and the transmission spectrum as well as the deposition rate has been investigated, as has the stoichiometry of the films transferred from target to substrate. Elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicates lower S and Sn content in Cu 2 SnS 3 films produced at higher fluence, whereas this trend is not seen in ZnS. The deposition rate of the compound materials measured in atoms per pulse is considerably larger than that of the individual metals, Zn, Cu, and Sn.