Deposition and characterization of earth abundant
            CuZnS
            ternary thin films by vacuum spray pyrolysis and fabrication of
            p‐
            CZS/
            n‐AZO
            heterojunction solar cells

ABSTRACTLarge-area Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited by low-cost spray pyrolysis technique on Mo-coated soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates at varied substrate temperatures of 563-703°K. Deposition conditions were optimized to obtain best quality films and effect of post deposition thermal processing of the as-deposited films under H2S ambient were investigated. Structural, morphological, and compositional characterization of as-deposited and H2S treated CZTS absorber layers were carried out by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX). Optical and electrical properties were measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy, van der Pauw, and Hall-effect measurements. Films grown at ∼360°C substrate temperature showed superior optoelectronic properties, improved stoichiometry and smoother morphology compared to films grown at much higher or lower temperatures. Film properties were significantly improved after the H2S processing. Our results show that large area high quality CZTS films can be fabricated by low-cost spray pyrolysis technique for high throughput commercial production of CZTS based heterojunction solar cells.

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Synthesis and characterization of photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic Cu2BaSnS4 thin films and solar cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry C ◽

10.1039/c7tc01678f ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (26) ◽

pp. 6406-6419 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Jie Ge ◽

Yanfa Yan

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Water Splitting ◽

Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting ◽

Synthesis And Characterization ◽

Great Promise ◽

Solar Absorbers ◽

Earth Abundant ◽

Photovoltaic Solar Cells

Earth abundant Cu2BaSnS4 thin films hold great promise for use as solar absorbers in the photoelectrochemical water splitting and the top cell of tandem photovoltaic solar cells.

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Growth and Characterization of Cu2Zn1−xFexSnS4 Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13061471 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1471

Author(s):

Vanira Trifiletti ◽

Giorgio Tseberlidis ◽

Marco Colombo ◽

Alberto Spinardi ◽

Sally Luong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Elementary Cell ◽

Production Costs ◽

X Ray ◽

Earth Abundant ◽

Copper Zinc

Photovoltaics is a promising technology to produce sustainable energy, thanks to the high amount of energy emitted by the sun. One way of having solar cells with low production costs is to apply thin-film technology and with earth-abundant raw materials. A keen interest is arising in kesterite compounds, which are chalcogenides composed of abundant and non-toxic elements. They have already achieved excellent performance at the laboratory level. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of mixed chalcogenides based on copper, zinc, iron, and tin. Solutions have been studied with different zinc and iron ratios. The distortion of the elementary cell of kesterite increases with the addition of iron until a phase transition to stannite occurs. The process of synthesis and deposition proposed herein is cheap and straightforward, based on the sol-gel technique. These thin films are particularly attractive for use in cheap and easily processable solar cells. The synthesized layers have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption, and Raman, X-ray photoelectron, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements.

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Deposition and Characterization of Low-Cost Spray Pyrolyzed Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) Thin-Films for Large-Area High-Efficiency Heterojunction Solar Cells

ECS Transactions ◽

10.1149/1.3701535 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 45 (7) ◽

pp. 153-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

S. Das ◽

C. Frye ◽

P. G. Muzykov ◽

K. C. Mandal

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Low Cost ◽

Large Area ◽

Heterojunction Solar Cells ◽

Czts Thin Films

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Synthesis and characterization of earth-abundant Cu2MnSnS4 thin films using a non-toxic solution-based technique

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c5ra14595c ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (102) ◽

pp. 84295-84302 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Leilei Chen ◽

Hongmei Deng ◽

Jiahua Tao ◽

Huiyi Cao ◽

Ling Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Conversion Efficiency ◽

Spin Coating ◽

Spin Coating Technique ◽

Synthesis And Characterization ◽

Coating Technique ◽

Earth Abundant ◽

First Time

Earth-abundant Cu2MnSnS4 (CMTS) thin films were fabricated through a non-toxic spin-coating technique. For the first time we have demonstrated the fabrication of CMTS solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 0.49%, based on this method.

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Photovoltaic performance of p-Si/Cd1-xZnxO heterojunctions

Photonics Letters of Poland ◽

10.4302/plp.v10i1.797 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Huseyn Mamedov ◽

Syed Ismat Shah ◽

Archil Chirakadze ◽

Vusal Mammadov ◽

Vusala Mammadova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Electrochemical Deposition ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Optical And Electrical Properties ◽

Thin Solid Films ◽

Heterojunction Solar Cells ◽

Solid Films ◽

Doped Zno

Heterojunctions of p-Si/Cd1-xZnxO were synthesized by depositing of Cd1-xZnxO films on p-Si substrates by electrochemical deposition. The morphological properties of the films were studied by scanning microscopy. The electric and photoelectrical properties of heterojunctions were investigated depending on the deposition potential and films composition. Heterojunctions of p-Si/Cd1-xZnxO, which deposited at cathode potential of -1.2 V, shows good rectification (k=1640). Under AM1.5 conditions the maximal values of open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor and efficiency of our best nano-structured cell, were Uoc = 442 mV, Jsc = 19.9 mA/cm2, FF = 0.59 and n = 5.1 %, respectively. Full Text: PDF ReferencesX. Li, et al. "Role of donor defects in enhancing ferromagnetism of Cu-doped ZnO films", J. Appl. Phys., 105, 103914 (2009). CrossRef X. Han, K. Han and M. Tao, "Electrodeposition of Group-IIIA Doped ZnO as a Transparent Conductive Oxide", ECS Trans., 25, 93 (2010). CrossRef W. Liu et al. "Na-Doped p-Type ZnO Microwires", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132, 2498 (2010). CrossRef R.A. Ismail and O.A. Abdulrazaq, "A new route for fabricating CdO/c-Si heterojunction solar cells", Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 91, 903 (2007). CrossRef R.S. Mane, H.M. Pathan, C.D. Lokhande and S.H.Han, "An effective use of nanocrystalline CdO thin films in dye-sensitized solar cells", Sol. Energy, 80 185 (2006). CrossRef E. Martin et al. "Properties of multilayer transparent conducting oxide films", Thin Solid Films, 461, 309 (2004). CrossRef Y. Caglar, M. Caglar, S. Ilican and A. Ates, "Morphological, optical and electrical properties of CdZnO films prepared by sol?gel method", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 42, 065421 (2009). CrossRef F. Wang, Z. Ye, D. Ma, L. Zhu and F. Zhuge, "Formation of quasi-aligned ZnCdO nanorods and nanoneedles", J. Cryst. Growth, 283, 373 (2005). CrossRef A. Abdinov, H. Mamedov, S. Amirova, "Investigation of Electrodeposited Glass/SnO2/CuInSe2/Cd1-xZnxS1-ySey/ZnO Thin Solar Cells", Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 46, 7359 (2007). CrossRef A. Abdinov, H. Mamedov, H. Hasanov, and S. Amirova, "Photosensitivity of p,n-Si/n-Cd1?xZnxS heterojunctions manufactured by a method of electrochemical deposition", Thin Solid Films, 480-481, 388 (2005). CrossRef A. Abdinov, H. Mamedov, and S. Amirova, "Investigation of electrodeposited p-Si/Cd1 ? xZnxS1 ? ySey heterojunction solar cells", Thin Solid Films, 511-512, 140 (2006) CrossRef H. Mamedov, V. Mamedov, V. Mamedova, Kh. Ahmadova, "Investigation of p-GaAs/n-Cd1-xZnxS1-yTey/Cd1-xZnxO heterojunctions deposited by electrochemical deposition", J. Optoelectrom. Adv. M., 17, 67 (2015). DirectLink H. Mamedov et al. "Preparation and Investigation of p-GaAs/n-Cd1-xZnxS1-yTey Heterojunctions Deposited by Electrochemical Deposition", J. Solar Energy Engineering, 136, 044503 (2014). CrossRef S. Sadofev, S. Blumstengel, J. Cui, J. Puls, S. Rogaschewski, P. Schafer and F. Henneberger, "Visible band-gap ZnCdO heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy", Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, 201907 (2006). CrossRef G. Torres-Delgado et al. "Percolation Mechanism and Characterization of (CdO)y(ZnO)1?y Thin Films", Adv. Funct. Mater., 12, 129 (2002). CrossRef H. Tabet-Derraz, N. Benramdane, D. Nacer, A. Bouzidi and M. Medles, "Investigations on ZnxCd1?xO thin films obtained by spray pyrolysis", Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 73, 249 (2002). CrossRef M. Tortosa, M. Mollar and B. Mar?, "Synthesis of ZnCdO thin films by electrodeposition", J. Cryst. Growth, 304, 97 (2007). CrossRef A. Singh, D. Kumar, P. K. Khanna, M. Kumar, and B. Prasad, "Phase Segregation Limit in ZnCdO Thin Films Deposited by Sol?Gel Method: A Study of Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties", ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, 2 (9), Q136 (2013). CrossRef F.Z. Bedia, A. Bedia, B. Benyoucef and S.Hamzaoui, "Electrical Characterization of n-ZnO/p-Si Heterojunction Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis Technique", Physics Procedia, 55, 61 (2014). CrossRef M. Jing-Jing et al. "Rectifying and Photovoltage Properties of ZnO:A1/p-Si Heterojunction", Chin. Phys. Lett., 27 (10), 107304 (2010). CrossRef

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