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. 2023 Apr 18;13(18):12123-12132.
doi: 10.1039/d3ra00978e. eCollection 2023 Apr 17.

Enhanced photoresponse of Cu2ZnSnS4 absorber thin films fabricated using multi-metallic stacked nanolayers

Subhash Pandharkar  1   2 , Yogesh Hase  1 , Shruti Shah  1 , Vidya Doiphode  1 , Ashish Waghmare  1 , Ashvini Punde  1 , Pratibha Shinde  1 , Swati Rahane  1 , Bharat Bade  1 , Somnath Ladhane  1 , Mohit Prasad  1   3 , Shashikant P Patole  4 , Sandesh Jadkar  1
Affiliations

Enhanced photoresponse of Cu2ZnSnS4 absorber thin films fabricated using multi-metallic stacked nanolayers

Subhash Pandharkar et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films have attracted considerable attention as potential candidates for photovoltaic absorber materials. In a vacuum deposition technique, a sputtering stacked metallic layer followed by a thermal process for sulfur incorporation is used to obtain high-quality CZTS thin films. In this work, for fabricating CZTS thin films, we have done a 3LYS (3 layers), 6LYS, and 9LYS sequential deposition of Sn/ZnS/Cu metal stack (via. metallic stacked nanolayer precursors) onto Mo-coated corning glass substrate via. RF-sputtering. The prepared thin films were sulfurized in a tubular furnace at 550 °C in a gas mixture of 5% H2S + 95% Ar for 10 min. We further investigated the impact of the Sn/ZnS/Cu metal stacking layers on the quality of the thin film based on its response to light because metal inter-diffusion during sulfurization is unavoidable. The inter-diffusion of precursors is low in a 3-layer stack sample, limiting the fabricated film's performance. CZTS films with 6-layer and 9-layer stacks result in an improved photocurrent density of ∼38 μA cm-2 and ∼82 μA cm-2, respectively, compared to a 3-layer sample which has a photocurrent density of ∼19 μA cm-2. This enhancement can be attributed to the 9-layer approach's superior inter-diffusion of metallic precursors and compact, smooth CZTS microstructure evolution.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Deposition schematic of multi-metallic stacked-layer precursors.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. XRD pattern of sputter-grown multi-stacked layers precursor CZTS films.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Raman spectrum of multi-stacked layer 3LYS, 6LYS, and 9LYS CZTS films.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. XPS survey spectrum of CZTS 9LYS thin-film.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. High-resolution core level XPS spectra of CZTS 9LYS thin-film (a) Cu-2p in the range 925–965 eV, (b) Zn-2p in the range 1015–1055 eV, (c) Sn-3d in the range 482–502 eV, and (d) S-2p in the range 156–168 eV.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. FE-SEM micrographs of multi-stacked (a) 3LYS, (b) 6YS, and (c) 9LYS CZTS thin films.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. (a) Absorption spectra of multi-stacked precursor CZTS thin films and (b) Tauc plot used to estimate optical energy band gap.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8. Schematic of (a) CZTS/CdS junction (b) conventional three-electrode cell employed in the present study.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9. Impedance spectra of synthesized CZTS thin films using multi-stacked layer precursors. The inset contains the equivalent circuit diagram.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10. Transient photocurrent density as a function of time for multi-stacked precursors CZTS films biased at −0.5 V.
Fig. 11
Fig. 11. Exponential fitted rise and decay photoconductivity curve of multi-stacked precursors CZTS films.
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