Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films prepared by sulfurizing different multilayer metal precursors

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were successfully fabricated on glass substrates by sulfurizing Cu-Sn-Zn multilayer precursors, which were deposited by ion beam sputtering and RF magnetron sputtering, respectively. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the prepared films under various processing conditions were investigated in detail. Results showed that the as-deposited CZTS thin films with the precursors by both ion beam sputtering and RF magnetron sputtering have a composition near stoichiometric. The crystallization of the samples, however, has a strong dependence on the atomic percent of constituents of the prepared CZTS films. A single phase stannite-type structure CZTS with a large absorption coefficient of 10(4)/cm in the visible range could be obtained after sulfurization at 520 degrees C for 2 h. The samples relative to the RF magnetron sputtering showed a low resistivity of 0.073 Omega cm and band gap energy of about 1.53 eV. The samples relative to the ion beam sputtering exhibited a resistivity of 0.36 Omega cm and the band gap energy is about 1.51 eV.