Cu2ZnSnS4 solar cells prepared with sulphurized dc-sputtered stacked metallic precursors

Abstract In the present work we report the details of the preparation and characterization results of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) based solar cells. The CZTS absorber was obtained by sulphurization of dc magnetron sputtered Zn/Sn/Cu precursor layers. The morphology, composition and structure of the absorber layer were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering. The majority carrier type was identified via a hot point probe analysis. The hole density, space charge region width and band gap energy were estimated from the external quantum efficiency measurements. A MoS 2 layer that formed during the sulphurization process was also identified and analyzed in this work. The solar cells had the following structure: soda lime glass/Mo/CZTS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al/Al grid. The best solar cell showed an open-circuit voltage of 345 mV, a short-circuit current density of 4.42 mA/cm 2 , a fill factor of 44.29% and an efficiency of 0.68% under illumination in simulated standard test conditions: AM 1.5 and 100 mW/cm 2 .