The Impact of Hot Injection Reaction Temperature on the Properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 Nanocrystal Thin Films for PV Devices

Alluhaybi, Asaad; Halliday, Douglas; Szablewski, Marek; Bowen, Leon

Abstract

Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is a p-type absorber layer semiconductor, which is a promising candidate material for advanced solar cell devices. CZTS nanoparticle thin films were synthesized via the hot-injection spin-coating method. Nanoparticle inks were deposited on soda lime glass substrates. Different reaction temperatures during synthesis were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), focused ion beam microscopy (FIB-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to study the effects of the synthesis reaction temperature on CZTS thin films. The energy band-gap decreased with increasing reaction temperatures from 1.55 to 1.34 eV for the temperature range 225 °C–300 °C. These energy bandgaps show values close to the optimum for a CZTS solar cell device. XRD confirmed the kesterite structure, which is the preferred structure in CZTS for high efficiency PV device performance. In addition, a clear increasing trend of the scattering domain size with the reaction temperature is found to be in good agreement with the FIB-SEM images. Raman spectra showed no secondary phases. EDS of thin films demonstrated compositions consistent with start-up precursor ratios (Cu-poor Zn-rich composition). And 250 °C was identified as the most suitable reaction temperature for CZTS devices.

Citation

Alluhaybi, A., Halliday, D., Szablewski, M., & Bowen, L. (2024). The Impact of Hot Injection Reaction Temperature on the Properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 Nanocrystal Thin Films for PV Devices. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 14(2), 240-245. https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2023.3338859

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 23, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 13, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-03
• Deposit Date: Nov 5, 2024
• Journal: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
• Print ISSN: 2156-3381
• Electronic ISSN: 2156-3403
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 240-245
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2023.3338859
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3045079