Sputter grown sub-micrometer thick Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film for photovoltaic device application

Structural properties and solar cells performance of sputter grown sub-micrometer thick (similar to 600 nm) Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) films are investigated for low cost and large scale photovoltaic deployment. The CZTS films are deposited using single quaternary stoichiometric target at room temperature. X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy measurements were carried out to investigate the structural property and secondary phase formation. The intense phonon peak at 334 cm(-1) in the visible Raman spectra confirms the deposition of single phase CZTS films. CZTS-based thin film solar cells show excellent performance with open circuit voltage similar to 600 mV and over all cell efficiency of similar to 3.07%, exhibiting commercial potential toward large scale fabrication of photovoltaic devices. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.