Enhancement of efficiency in Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cells grown by sputtering

Author

Dhakal, Tara P. ; Ramesh, Dasharathy N. ; Tobias, R. Reid ; Chien-Yi Peng ; Westgate, Charles R.

Author_Institution

Center for Autonomous Solar Power (CASP), SUNY-Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

16-21 June 2013

Firstpage

1949

Lastpage

1952

Abstract

We report the cell performance of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin film solar cell that showed efficiency in the range of 6 to 7 %. The absorber layer was grown by magnetron sputtering followed by annealing in a H₂S/N₂ environment. Initially, the CZTS film was co-sputtered with three different targets; copper (Cu), tin sulphide (SnS) and zinc sulphide (ZnS). The Cu target was subjected to DC power and RF power was used for the SnS and ZnS targets. The as-grown CZTS film was sulphurized in H₂S environment at around 510°C, which re-crystalized the film with larger grains. The quantum efficiency measurement showed internal quantum efficiency as high as 80% around 600 nm wavelength. A typical cell showed 610 mV open circuit voltage, 16 mA/cm² short-circuit current, and 6.2% efficiency.

Keywords

annealing; copper compounds; elemental semiconductors; semiconductor thin films; short-circuit currents; solar cells; sputtering; sulphur compounds; ternary semiconductors; tin compounds; zinc compounds; CZTS film; Cu₂ZnSnS₄; DC power; RF power; absorber layer; copper zinc tin sulfide thin film solar cell efficiency enhancement; magnetron sputtering; open circuit voltage; p-type semiconductor; quantum efficiency measurement; short-circuit current; voltage 610 mV; Annealing; Copper; Films; Photovoltaic cells; Sputtering; Tin; Zinc; Cu2ZnSnS4; IV/QE measurements; co-sputtering; thin film photovoltaic cells;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2013 IEEE 39th

Conference_Location

Tampa, FL

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2013.6744852

Filename

6744852