High-efficiency ultra-thin Cu2ZnSnS4 solar cells by double-pressure sputtering with spark plasma sintered quaternary target

In recent years, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) semiconductor materials have received intensive attention in the field of thin-film solar cells owing to its non-toxic and low-cost elements. In this work, double-pressure sputtering technology is applied to obtain highly efficient and ultra-thin (similar to 450 nm) pure Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cell. Using mixed materials with sulfides and copper powder as a quaternary target via spark plasma sintering (SPS) method and adopting double-layer sputtering (high + low pressure), a highly adhesive and large-grained CZTS thin film is achieved. As a result, the damage to the surface of Mo contact is decreased so that the reflectivity of incident light can be improved. Moreover, the composition of CZTS film was more uniform and the secondary phase separation at the Mo interface was reduced. Therefore, the interface defect state and deep level defect density in corresponding device with double-pressure is reduced and the ratio of depletion thickness to absorption layer thickness can reached to 0.58, which promoted the collection of photogenerated carriers. Finally, an efficiency of 9.3% for ultra-thin (similar to 450 nm) CZTS film solar cell is obtained. (C) 2021 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a highly efficient and ultra-thin CZTS solar cell was obtained using double-pressure sputtering technology. The reduction in damage to the Mo contact surface improved the reflectivity of incident light and promoted the collection of photogenerated carriers.