TY - JOUR
T1 - Probing the depth inhomogeneity of spray pyrolyzed CZTS thin films via chemical etching
AU - Jeganath, K.
AU - George, Sajan D.
AU - Murari, M. S.
AU - Raviprakash, Y.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India (EMR/2017/002575) for providing financial assistance.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - The surface of the Cu2ZnSnS4(CZTS) absorber layer has a critical role to attain higher photovoltaic(PV) performance. Hence, the study of inhomogeneity in the absorber layer is imperative to enhance absorber layer properties. In this work, the structural and compositional inhomogeneity between the surface and bulk region of CZTS thin film has been investigated using a wet chemical etching process. The Bromine (Br) combined etchant is used to remove the surface of the CZTS thin film to examine the inhomogeneity in the bulk region. The X-ray diffraction study reveals the reduction of crystallinity and the magnitude of Cu-Zn ordering for the etched-CZTS thin film. The magnitude of Cu-Zn order for the surface as well as the bulk region of CZTS thin film has been determined using near-resonance Raman spectroscopy. Further, the UV–Vis spectroscopy shows a band gap of 1.5 eV for the etched-CZTS thin film. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy displays the reduction of spherical grains on the surface of etched-CZTS thin film which is beneficial for the device's performance. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms the compositional inhomogeneity through the reduction of the Zn/Sn ratio in etched-CZTS thin films. The presented results from this study demonstrate the inhomogeneity between the surface and bulk region of CZTS thin films and offer a path to improve the device's performance.
AB - The surface of the Cu2ZnSnS4(CZTS) absorber layer has a critical role to attain higher photovoltaic(PV) performance. Hence, the study of inhomogeneity in the absorber layer is imperative to enhance absorber layer properties. In this work, the structural and compositional inhomogeneity between the surface and bulk region of CZTS thin film has been investigated using a wet chemical etching process. The Bromine (Br) combined etchant is used to remove the surface of the CZTS thin film to examine the inhomogeneity in the bulk region. The X-ray diffraction study reveals the reduction of crystallinity and the magnitude of Cu-Zn ordering for the etched-CZTS thin film. The magnitude of Cu-Zn order for the surface as well as the bulk region of CZTS thin film has been determined using near-resonance Raman spectroscopy. Further, the UV–Vis spectroscopy shows a band gap of 1.5 eV for the etched-CZTS thin film. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy displays the reduction of spherical grains on the surface of etched-CZTS thin film which is beneficial for the device's performance. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms the compositional inhomogeneity through the reduction of the Zn/Sn ratio in etched-CZTS thin films. The presented results from this study demonstrate the inhomogeneity between the surface and bulk region of CZTS thin films and offer a path to improve the device's performance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137697815&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85137697815&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.inoche.2022.109952
DO - 10.1016/j.inoche.2022.109952
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85137697815
SN - 1387-7003
VL - 145
JO - Inorganic Chemistry Communication
JF - Inorganic Chemistry Communication
M1 - 109952
ER -
