Molecular-solution printing of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin film

In this work, a novel molecular-solution printing approach combined with a rapid thermal annealing process for the facile fabrication of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin film is reported. The intrinsic relationship between annealing parameters (temperature and time) and the properties of the fabricated samples was investigated systematically. Furthermore, the mechanism behind this CZTS formation approach was studied in detail. The results show that the best properties were obtained for the sample annealed at 600 degrees C for 45 min, which displayed a pure kesterite CZTS phase, acceptable morphology consisting of 1.0-1.5 mu m size nanoparticles, a satisfactory Cu-poor and Znrich composition, and an ideal bandgap of similar to 1.42 eV. Thus, the prepared sample is a promising candidate for the fabrication of high-performance photovoltaic devices.