Order-disorder transition in B-type Cu2ZnSnS4 and limitations of ordering through thermal treatments

B-type Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films with varying degrees of cation order were produced and examined with resonant Raman spectroscopy. Simulations based on Vineyard's theory of order allowed kinetic analysis of the final degree of order after the applied thermal treatments. Combining the results from the simulations and the resonant Raman spectra, the kinetic parameters within the Vineyard model for the order-disorder transition in B-type CZTS were determined, as well as a method which allows quantification of the degree of order based on resonant Raman spectra. The knowledge gained about the order-disorder transition in B-type CZTS allowed the prediction of a best practice thermal treatment for high ordering. This further leads to awareness about practical limits of thermal treatments regarding the cation ordering in B-type CZTS, and suggests that such treatments are not able to produce the high cation order necessary to sufficiently reduce detrimental potential fluctuations. Published by AIP Publishing.