Synthesis and optimized sulfurization time of Cu2SnS3 thin films obtained from stacked metallic precursors for solar cell application

Cu2SnS3 (CTS) thin films were prepared by sulfurization of stacked metallic precursors deposited from radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The effect of sulfurization time on the properties of CTS thin films and solar cells was studied. Energy dispersive X-ray results reveal that the elemental distribution becomes more homogenous with the increase of sulfurization time. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate that the film obtained at optimized sulfurization time (i.e. 20 min) has a better crystalline quality with oxidation states of Cu+, Se+ and S2-. The solar cells fabricated with the CTS thin film sulfurized at 20 min has the efficiency up to 0.20% with V-oc=197 mV, J(sc)=3.60 mA/cm(2) and FF=26.1%. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.