Study of Structural and Optical Properties of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ and Cu₂ZnGeS₄ Thin Films Synthesized by Sulfurization of Stacked Metallic Layers

Abstract:

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ and Cu₂ZnGeS₄ thin films made from the earth abundant and non-toxic materials are quaternary semiconducting compounds which have received increasing interest for solar cells applications. Cu₂ZnSnS₄ and Cu₂ZnGeS₄ thin films have been synthesized by sulfurization of radio frequency magnetron sputtered precursors. The structural and optical properties of the thin films have been investigated and discussed. The result of X-ray diffraction demonstrates that the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ and Cu₂ZnGeS₄ thin films have kesterite (KS; space group I) crystal structure. An obvious blue shift is observed in the Raman spectra as smaller Ge replaces Sn. It is due to the fact that the radius of Ge cation is smaller than that of Sn cation , which results in the shrink of the lattice. Further transmission spectra demonstrate that the values of band gap for CZTS and CZGS thin films are 1.54 eV and 1.98 eV, respectively.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 814)
• Pages: 44-48
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.814.44
• Online since: March 2015
• Authors: Ling Huang, Hong Mei Deng, Jun He, Lei Lei Chen, Ping Xiong Yang*, Jun Hao Chu
• Keywords: Cu₂ZnGeS₄ Thin Film, Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Thin Film, Solar Energy Materials, Sputtering, Sulfurization

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