Cu2(ZnSn)(S)4 Electrodeposition from a Single Bath By Both DC and Pulsing Current with Atomic Ratio Optimization

Abstract

Cu2(ZnSn)(Se)4 (CTZSS) has an significant advantages over CIGS as thin film solar cell due to its optimum band gap. Producing thin film layers by electroplating techniques is chiefly attractive due to low production cost and high throughput 1-3. Several publication reports CTZS electrodeposition; however, the electrodeposition method still has an important challenge such as a annealing process due to partial pressure variation4. We introduce in this work an advance lower electrolyte concentration which suitable to single bath electroplating similar to prvious work with CIGS5. The electrolyte is significantly more dilute in comparison to common electrolytes designated in the literature1-4. We use pulsing technique with current pulsing technique to improve the deposit adhesion and quality. Theelectrolyte composition is: 0.0042 M CuSO4, 0.0031 M ZnSO4, 0.0051 M SnCl2, 0.0062 M Na2S2O3, and 0.19 mM Na2S2O3. PHydrion is used as a buffer (pH=2), and 0.61 M LiCl is used as supporting electrolyte.Electroplating experiments was carried out at a rotating disk electrode system which provides a better controlled electroplating condition. Rotating disk function is to have better control to experiment parameters and to compare Dc current efficiency with pulsing current. electrochemical behavior study and the deposit equality investigation are provided in Fig. 1. The effects of pulsing time and current density on the CTZS alloy atomic composition, deposit quality, and its adhesion to the back contact are discussed. The post annealing treatment was performed under sulfur element atmosphere with no necessity for metals addition at this phase. The electroplating parameters was optimized according. The final composition was investigated using Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy technique (EDS) Fig. 2. XRD technique used to analyze CTZS crystallography and thickness. Acknowledgements Case Western Reserve University for using their instruments References [1] M. Cao, L. Li, B. L. Zhang, J. Huang, L. J. Wang, Y. Shen, Y. Sun, J. C. Jiang, G. J. Hu, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol.Cells, 93, 583 (2009). [2] Y. Lin, S. Ikeda, W. Septina, Y. Kawasaki, T. Harada, M. Matsumura, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 120, 218 (2014).[3] H. Guan, H. Shen, C. Gao, X. He, , J. Mater. Sci.:Mater. Electron., 24, 1490 (2013).[4] S. Abermann, , Solar Energy, 94, 37 (2013).[5] Saeed, M.; González Peña, O.I, Nanomaterials 2021, 11, Figure 1