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Fabrication and Characterization of CZTS Thin Films Prepared by the Sulfurization of RF-Sputtered Stacked Metal Precursors

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Abstract

In this work, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were prepared by the sulfurization of metal precursors deposited sequentially via radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Mo-coated soda-lime glass. The stack order of the precursors was Mo/Zn/Sn/Cu. Sputtered precursors were annealed in sulfur atmosphere with nine different conditions to study the impact of sulfurization time and substrate temperature on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the final CZTS films. X-ray fluorescence was used to determine the elemental composition ratio of the metal precursors. Final CZTS films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). XRD and EDS were combined to investigate the films’ structure and to identify the presence of secondary phases. XRD analysis indicated an improvement in film crystallinity with an increase of the substrate temperature and annealing times. Also indicated was the minimization and/or elimination of secondary phases when the films experienced longer annealing time. EDS revealed slight Sn loss in films sulfurized at 550°C; however, an increase of the sulfurization temperature to 600°C did not confirm these results. SEM study showed that films treated with higher temperatures exhibited dense morphology, indicating the completion of the sulfurization process. The estimated absorption coefficient was on the order of 104 cm−1 for all CZTS films, and the values obtained for the optical bandgap energy of the films were between 1.33 eV and 1.52 eV.

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Acknowledgements

This work was performed under U.S. Department of Energy Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The authors would like to thank Jeff Alleman for the technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering & Computer Science, University of Denver, Denver, 80208, CO, USA

    Mohamed Abusnina & Mohammed Matin

  2. Measurements and Characterization, National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL, Golden, 80401, CO, USA

    Mohamed Abusnina, Helio Moutinho, Mowafak Al-Jassim & Clay DeHart

Authors
  1. Mohamed Abusnina
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  2. Helio Moutinho
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  3. Mowafak Al-Jassim
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  4. Clay DeHart
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  5. Mohammed Matin
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Correspondence to Mohamed Abusnina.

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Abusnina, M., Moutinho, H., Al-Jassim, M. et al. Fabrication and Characterization of CZTS Thin Films Prepared by the Sulfurization of RF-Sputtered Stacked Metal Precursors. J. Electron. Mater. 43, 3145–3154 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3259-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3259-2

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