Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.564, 155-161, 2012
Temperature Effects on Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) Films Deposited by Spraying Method
CZTS containing ink was prepared by a sonochemical method, and properties of CZTS thin films deposited by a spraying method were investigated. We used CuCl2, ZnCl, SnCl2 and thiourea as precursor materials, 2-methoxyethanol as a solvent, and monoethanolamine as a stabilizer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns from the CZTS films mainly exhibited the (112), (200), (220), and (312) planes of a kesterite structure, and a phase transition was not observed in the range of annealing temperatures (maximum 500 degrees C) investigated in this study. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of all the XRD peaks stay nearly constant up to the annealing temperature of 300 degrees C, and suddenly decreases from 300 degrees C to 450 degrees C, and finally saturates above similar to 450 degrees C. The optical bandgap of CZTS films was similar to 1.25 eV, and the atomic elemental ratio of Cu:Zn:Sn:S in CZTS films was approximately 2:1:0.9:3.5. These results demonstrate that the CZTS containing ink developed in this study has promising potential for the formation of high quality CZTS thin films for solar cell applications.