Growth and characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 photovoltaic thin films by electrodeposition and sulfurization

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films have been successfully prepared by sulfurization of Cu-Zn-Sn (CZT) alloy precursors. The CZT precursors were co-deposited on Mo-coated glass substrates via a one-step electrodeposition process. A comparative study of sulfurization process was carried out to optimize the kesterite CZTS phase quality. Morphological and structural analyses reveal a large grain microstructure and less secondary phases in the close-zone sulfurized thin film. The solar cell derived from the close-zone thin film shows the better conversion efficiency of 3.62%. Amounts of voids at the CZTS/Mo interface and the thick MoS2 layer is thought to be the root cause of the lower performance.