Controllable Multinary Alloy Electrodeposition for Thin-Film Solar Cell Fabrication: A Case Study of Kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4

Abstract

SummaryElectrodeposition (ED) technology is a low-cost industrial candidate for solar cell fabrication. However, the practical aspects of controlling deposit morphology and composition have not been significantly addressed because of the complex co-plating variables that still need to be understood for multinary alloy ED. This work addresses these practical aspects on how to control composition and deposit morphology using co-electrodeposited kesterite alloy precursors as a case study. The alloy precursors co-plated under the optimized conditions from a mixed thiosulfate-sulfite electrolyte bath show uniform, smooth, and compact film morphology as well as uniform distribution of composition, well suited for efficient kesterite absorbers, finally delivering a Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin-film solar cell with 7.4% efficiency based on a configuration Mo/CZTS/CdS/ZnO/aluminum-doped ZnO. This work underscores that alloy ED, with the advantage of controllable composition and morphology, holds promise for low-cost industrial manufacture of thin-film solar cells.

Ultralow Pt Catalyst for Formaldehyde Removal: The Determinant Role of Support

“…The electronic density of oxygen in the corresponding samples was measured by O1s XPS ( Figure 4 D). The PbO-based samples with 0–1.0 wt % Pt show twin O1s XPS peaks, which can be deconvoluted into three peaks at 528.9 eV (surface lattice oxygen, O S-L ), 530.9 eV (surface oxygen of –OH, O 2− and CO 3 2− , O S ), and 532.4 eV (adsorbed of water or organics) ( Yang et al., 2017 , Xu et al., 2015 , Ge and Yan, 2018 ). In contrast, the O1s XPS of the Al 2 O 3 -supported sample only shows a single peak centered at 531.4 eV, combining the lattice O, –OH, and water peaks at 530.6, 531.5, and 532.5 eV, respectively.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Spinel Cobaltite (Co3O4) Thin Films for Function as Hole Transport Materials in Organometallic Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

“…XPS measurements suggest that this as-grown sample has adventitious organic surface contaminations evidenced by the presence of spurious peaks, one at 288.0 eV corresponding to O–CO and another at 531.7 eV corresponding to C–O–H (panels (a,b) of Figure S8). The intense O 1s peak at 529.5 eV corresponds well to O 2– in the oxides. − As shown in Figure a, the 2p core-level XPS profile of cobalt acquired with Al Kα irradiation holds intricate features owing to the overlap with its Auger lines (LMM) and strong backgrounds. As a result, accurate peak-fitting analysis of the Co 2p profile is difficult, and it is also meaningless to discern the valence states of cobalt by fitting the 2p profile. , Nonetheless, a set of sharp Co 2p peaks centered at 780.5 and 795.6 eV, along with a broad satellite structure located at about 9 eV higher in binding energy, are characteristic of low-spin O h Co 3+ in LiCoO 2 or spinel Co 3 O 4 . − ,, Figure b shows an XPS profile acquired at the core-level regions of Co 3p and Li 1s.…”

“…XPS measurements suggest that this as-grown sample has adventitious organic surface contaminations evidenced by the presence of spurious peaks, one at 288.0 eV corresponding to O−CO and another at 531.7 eV corresponding to C−O−H (panels (a,b) of Figure S8). 50 The intense O 1s peak at 529.5 eV corresponds well to O 2− in the oxides. 50−55 As shown in Figure 9a, the 2p core-level XPS profile of cobalt acquired with Al Kα irradiation holds intricate features owing to the overlap with its Auger lines (LMM) and strong backgrounds.…”

A Review of CZTS Thin Film Solar Cell Technology

“…In 2013, they further improved equipment and craft, employing the Cu, Zn, and Sn evaporation source of Knudsen type and Veeco S source box in metal tantalum with valves; the substrate temperature were increased from 110°C to 150°C, and the annealing temperature were increased from 540°C to 570°C while maintain the annealing time for 5 minutes. Although the film was only 600 nm, they still obtained the CZTS solar cells with an efficiency of 8.4%, which is currently the highest CZTS cells efficiency without Se [13].…”