Cu2SnS3 (CTS) thin films were produced by the co-evaporation of Cu, Sn, and cracked sulfur, followed by annealing. The as-deposited films were then annealed at 570 °C for 5 min in the presence of 100 mg of sulfur lumps in a rapid thermal processing furnace filled with N2 gas at atmospheric pressure. Solar cells were then fabricated using the CTS films as absorber layers, and their efficiency was evaluated for different Cu/Sn compositional ratios. The largest grain size was found for films with a slightly Sn-rich composition. The highest performance was obtained for solar cells containing a CTS thin film with a Cu/Sn ratio of about 1.9. A cell with a Cu/Sn ratio of 1.87 exhibited an open-circuit voltage of 258 mV, a short-circuit current density of 35.6 mA/cm2, a fill factor of 0.467, and a power conversion efficiency of 4.29%.

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In-and Se-free Cu 2 GeS 3 thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation followed by sulfurization, and photovoltaic cells with a glass/Mo/ Cu 2 GeS 3 /CdS/ZnO:Al/Al structure were fabricated. The composition ratios of the obtained films were Cu/Ge = 1.96 and S/metal = 0.92 on glass, and Cu/Ge = 2.08 and S/metal = 0.94 on a Mo-coated glass substrate. By X-ray diffraction measurement, the sulfurized films were identified to be Cu 2 GeS 3 . By optical measurement, the band gap energy was estimated to be 1.5-1.6 eV. In the visible region, a Cu 2 GeS 3 film has an optical absorption coefficient that is on the order of 10 4 cm %1 . A solar cell fabricated using the Cu 2 GeS 3 thin film exhibited an open-circuit voltage of 380 mV and a conversion efficiency of 1.70%.

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Cu2SnS3 (CTS) contains non-rare metals and it has suitable optical characteristics for the absorber layer of thin-film solar cells. In this study, CTS thin films were fabricated by sulfurizing Cu–Sn precursors deposited by co-electrodeposition. Solar cells with a structure glass/Mo/CTS/CdS/ZnO:Al/Al were fabricated from the films. The best cell had an efficiency of 2.84%. A relatively high conversion efficiency was obtained from films with Cu/Sn≤2.