Chemically Deposited CdS Buffer/Kesterite Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Solar Cells: Relationship between CdS Thickness and Device Performance

Earth-abundant, copper–zinc–tin–sulfide (CZTS), kesterite, is an attractive absorber material for thin-film solar cells (TFSCs). However, the open-circuit voltage deficit ( V oc -deficit) resulting from a high recombination rate at the buffer/absorber interface is one of the major challenges that must be overcome to improve the performance of kesterite-based TFSCs. In this paper, we demonstrate the relationship between device parameters and performances for chemically deposited CdS buffer/CZTS-based heterojunction TFSCs as a function of buffer layer thickness, which could change the CdS/CZTS interface conditions such as conduction band or valence band offsets, to gain deeper insight and understanding about the V oc -deficit behavior from a high recombination rate at the CdS buffer/kesterite interface. Experimental results show that device parameters and performances are strongly dependent on the CdS buffer thickness. We postulate two meaningful consequences: (i) Device parameters were improved up to a CdS buffer thickness of 70 nm, whereas they deteriorated at a thicker CdS buffer layer. The V oc -deficit in the solar cells improved up to a CdS buffer thickness of 92 nm and then deteriorated at a thicker CdS buffer layer. (ii) The minimum values of the device parameters were obtained at 70 nm CdS thickness in the CZTS TFSCs. Finally, the highest conversion efficiency of 8.77% ( V oc: 494 mV, J sc: 34.54 mA/cm 2, and FF: 51%) is obtained by applying a 70 nm thick CdS buffer to the Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 absorber layer.