Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film deposited by pulse laser deposition

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, bulk Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) poly‐crystals which were used as a target of the pulse laser deposition (PLD) method were grown using the solid‐phase method. The CZTS poly‐crystals were then investigated using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and compositional analyses. It was observed that impure crystal phases were reduced with increasing heat growth duration, and they almost completely disappeared in the crystals grown for 96 h at 980 °C. The lattice constants of the a and c axes were estimated from the XRD data and found to be 5.4307 Å and 10.8680 Å, respectively, which are in good agreement with the standard values of 5.4340 Å and 10.8560 Å, as according to JCPDS Card 01‐075‐4122. Our results indicate that the CZTS poly‐crystals have either a kesterite or a stannite structure. Raman spectra confirmed the existence of CZTS without any secondary phases in the form of binary or ternary sulfides. CZTS poly‐crystals were found to be nearly stoichiometric, and they possessed a uniform composition. CZTS thin films were deposited using the PLD method, and were evaluated using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), composition analysis, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM). Very few additional impurity phases were detected in CZTS thin films deposited at a pulse energy density of 5 mJ/mm2. Finally, the composition of the CZTS thin films was not consistent with that of the CZTS poly‐crystals as a target of PLD method. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)