| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1664172 | Thin Solid Films | 2016 | 6 Pages |
•Potentiostatic pulse plated CZT precursor film from pyrophosphate bath•Fabricated CZTS film from sulfurization of co-electrodeposited CZT precursor film•Kesterite structured CZTS film with secondary phases is observed.•Amount of secondary phases is reduced by increasing the annealing time.•Obtained bandgap of CZTS films is 1.5 eV, suitable for solar cell applications.
Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), comprising of earth abundant and non-toxic elements, is an ecofriendly and cost effective thin film absorber layer for solar cell applications. The present work describes the fabrication of p-type absorber material Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) from alkaline pyrophosphate solution through pulsed electrodeposition (PED) at room temperature. CZTS thin film is prepared from one step co-electrodeposited Cu–Sn–Zn (CZT) precursor film obtained from pyrophosphate bath under potentiostatic condition (− 1.4 V) onto a Ni substrate followed by annealing in sulfur atmosphere at 500 °C for 1 h and 30 min. To achieve the desired CZTS stoichiometry in the deposited material, applied potential for the co-deposition has been calculated from the Tafel plots. The crystallographic phases, morphology and composition of the electrodeposited Cu–Sn–Zn precursor and the sulfurized films are assessed through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. Formation of CZTS phase is confirmed from X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy of the sulfurized sample. Optical band gap measurement is investigated by using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. The CZTS thin film of kesterite structure is obtained with a band gap of 1.5 eV, which is suitable for solar cell fabrication.
