Optimization of physical properties of spray-deposited Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films for solar cell applications

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

“…The substrate temperature was varied between 613 and 693 K by Courel et al for the sprayed CZTS solution, and an attempt was made to identify the main limiting factors that curtail the efficiency improvement using this robust low‐cost technology. The films grown below 663 K are semi‐amorphous which becomes crystalline at 663 K, and the quality reduces when the temperature is further increased due to re evaporation of constituent elements.…”

“…The 663 K grown CZTS film was annealed at 853 K by Courel et al in the presence of 50 mg sulfur and 5 mg tin for 30 minutes as done by Vigil Galan and Espindola groups . For the annealed sample grown at 663 K, the resistivity increased from 0.5 to 65.4 Ωcm, mobility increased from 1.8 to 10.3 cmV −1 s −1 , and carrier concentration decreased from 7.0 × 10 18 cm 3 to 8.8 × 10 17 cm 3 .…”

“…Boshta et al deposited CZTS absorber film on polyimide substrate keeping annealing time as 1 hour at 673 K in argon atmosphere. Thirty‐minute annealing time was fixed by Courel et al, and they employed a temperature of 853 K in a mixed vapor of sulfur and tin to produce CZTS thin films with better values of carrier concentration. Nguyen et al achieved an efficiency of 8.1% by annealing the as‐grown film at 873 K for 30 minutes with 20 mg of sulfur powder alone.…”

Theoretical Design of the Absorber for Intermediate Band Solar Cells from Group‐IV (Si, Ge, and Sn)‐Doped AgAlSe2

“…Owing to the success of chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 and its cousin Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 on the single band gap solar cells, Cu‐based chalcopyrite compounds have been paid much attention as the host for IBSC, for instances, Fe, Cr, Ti, Ge, and Sn doped CuGaS 2 , Ce and Ti doped CuInS 2 , Sn‐doped CuAlS 2 , etc. In order to realize the three‐photon absorption effectively, the intermediate band need to meet two requirements: delocalized and half‐filled .…”

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

“…Different deposition techniques have been considered to CZTS thin films deposition for solar cells application. In particular, thermal evaporateion [7] , co-evaporation [8] , magnetron sputtering [9,10] , screen printed [11] , sol gel [12] , electrodeposition [13] , photochemical deposition [14] , and spray pyrolysis [15][16][17][18][19][20] are among the most used ones. These techniques offer an easy and cheap route for thin film processing.…”