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Effect of annealing temperature on the microstructural and optical properties of newly developed (Ag,Cu)2Zn(Sn,Ge)Se4 thin films

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Abstract

In this study, ACZTGSe thin films were fabricated by two-stage method to understand the effect of Ag and Ge incorporation in CZTSe system for the first time. For this purpose, sputtered (Ag-Cu-Zn-Sn-Ge)/evaporated (Se) precursor stacks were selenized at elevated temperatures (500–600 °C) for 3 min in rapid thermal processing system. The atomic ratios of the samples were adjusted to Ag/(Ag + Cu) = 0.10 and Ge/(Ge + Sn) = 0.05 and 0.30. The chemical composition of the films changed with the reaction temperature and by the degree of Ag–Ge co-doping. Moreover, Ge loss was more pronounced than Sn loss in the films due to the vapor pressure differences. Kesterite pure phase were acquired for CZTSe and ACZTGSe thin films after annealing treatment applied at 550 °C. Both XRD and Raman results revealed that Ag and Ge co-doped CZTSe thin films were successfully prepared. According to cross-sectional and surface images of the samples, it was deduced that incorporation of Ag and Ge into CZTSe lead to grain growth due to the liquid-assisted growth mechanism which was triggered by either Ag or Ge-based phases which acted as a fluxing agent. The band gap values shifted from 1.04 eV (CZTSe) to 1.14 eV (ACZTG0.23Se) for the thin films grown at 550 °C.

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Acknowledgements

This study is financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey with the project number of 120F029. The author gratefully acknowledges to Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Physics for technical support and also thanks to Dr. Bülent M. BAŞOL for his valuable comments and suggestions.

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  1. Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Nanotechnology Application and Research Center, 51240, Niğde, Turkey

    Yavuz Atasoy

  2. Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Niğde Zübeyde Hanım Vocational School of Health Services, 51240, Niğde, Turkey

    Yavuz Atasoy

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Atasoy, Y. Effect of annealing temperature on the microstructural and optical properties of newly developed (Ag,Cu)2Zn(Sn,Ge)Se4 thin films. Appl. Phys. A 128, 1030 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-022-06188-3

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