Annealing temperature optimization for dip-coated Cu2SnS3 thin films: Sustainable pathway to CTS/Zn(O, S) solar cells via numerical simulation

Menon K. Gadha, T.V. Anitha, Prabeesh Punathil, T.V. Vimalkumar*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Earth abundant Cu2SnS3 (CTS) films were fabricated on glass substrates using facile dip coating technique. For exploring the role of annealing temperature in the formation of CTS films, the deposited films were annealed in an inert atmosphere at various temperatures. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of Cu2SnS3 and its monoclinic structure was further identified by Raman spectroscopy. Hall measurements revealed the p–type nature of films and observed a carrier concentration of ∼ 1017 cm−3 for all the samples. High absorption coefficient value (α > 104 cm−1) and direct band gap in the range of 1.43 eV − 1.75 eV make the samples a suitable candidate in the field of photovoltaics. The influence of these process parameters on a solar cell based on CTS was analyzed by the SCAPS simulation program. At an annealing temperature of 475 °C, the simulated solar cell demonstrated the best power conversion efficiency PCE of 19.77 %.
Original languageEnglish
Article number118003
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalMaterials Science and Engineering: B
Volume314
Early online date13 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • Cu2SnS3
  • Dip coating
  • Thin film solar cell
  • SCAPS
  • Simulation

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