Impact of pre-alloying before sulfurization of electroplated Cu/Sn bilayers

• The pre-alloying process improved the phase purity of Cu2SnS3 (CTS) thin films.
• Cu6Sn5 intermediated phase reduces the formation of second phases.
• This pre-alloy was proposed as an useful way toward high-efficient CTS-based solar cells.

Cu2SnS3 (CTS) thin films were synthesized by sulfurizing electroplated Cu/Sn metallic precursors. Two different sulfurization processes were compared. One sulfurized the Cu/Sn precursor directly in a tubular furnace. The other process pre-alloyed the Cu/Sn precursor before the sulfurization. The structural, morphological, compositional, optical properties of the CTS films that were prepared by different heat-treatment processes were presented. We concluded that the pre-alloying process improved the crystallinity, phase purity, and compositional homogeneity of the CTS thin films.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide