Fabrication and Characterization of Cu 2 ZnSnSe 4 Thin-Film Solar Cells using a Single-Stage Co-Evaporation Method: Effects of Film Growth Temperatures on Device Performances

Muhammad Rehan, Hyeonmin Jeon, Yunae Cho, Ara Cho, Kihwan Kim, Jun-Sik Cho, Jae Ho Yun, Seungkyu Ahn, Jihye Gwak and Donghyeop Shin
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Muhammad Rehan: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Hyeonmin Jeon: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Yunae Cho: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Ara Cho: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Kihwan Kim: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Jun-Sik Cho: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Jae Ho Yun: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Seungkyu Ahn: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Jihye Gwak: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Donghyeop Shin: Photovoltaics Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Korea

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-10

Abstract: Kesterite-structured Cu 2 ZnSnSe 4 (CZTSe) is considered as one of the Earth-abundant and non-toxic photovoltaic materials. CZTSe films have been prepared using a single-step co-evaporation method at a relatively low temperature (i.e., below 500 °C). Due to the volatile nature of tin-selenide, the control over substrate temperature (i.e., growth temperature) is very important in terms of the deposition of high-quality CZTSe films. In this regard, the effects of growth temperatures on the CZTSe film morphology were investigated. The suitable temperature range to deposit CZTSe films with Cu-poor and Zn-rich compositions was 380–480 °C. As the temperature increased, the surface roughness of the CZTSe film decreased, which could improve p/n junction properties and associated device performances. Particularly, according to capacitance-voltage (C-V) and derived-level capacitance profiling (DLCP) measurements, the density of interfacial defects of CZTSe film grown at 480 °C showed the lowest value, of the order of ~3 × 10 15 cm −3 . Regardless of applied growth temperatures, the formation of a MoSe 2 layer was rarely observed, since the growth temperature was not high enough to have a reaction between Mo back contact layers and CZTSe absorber layers. As a result, the photovoltaic (PV) device with CZTSe film grown at 480 °C yielded the best power conversion efficiency of 6.47%. It is evident that the control over film growth temperature is a critical factor for obtaining high-quality CZTSe film prepared by one-step process.

Keywords: earth-abundant; kesterite structure; CZTSe; growth temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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