Premium
Electrodeposition of ternary Cu x Sn y S z thin films for photovoltaic applications
Author(s) -
Di Benedetto Francesco,
Bencistà Ilaria,
Caporali Stefano,
Cinotti Serena,
De Luca Antonio,
Lavacchi Alessandro,
Vizza Francesco,
Muniz Miranda Maurizio,
Foresti Maria Luisa,
Innocenti Massimo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.2386
Subject(s) - kesterite , thin film , band gap , materials science , ternary operation , solar cell , substrate (aquarium) , czts , photovoltaic system , thin film solar cell , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemistry , chromatography , geology , oceanography , computer science , programming language , ecology , biology
ABSTRACT We exploited alternated electrodeposition of Cu, Sn and S to obtain Cu x Sn y S z thin films. These materials are kesterite‐type chalcogenides that have attracted a relevant interest from worldwide researchers as low cost and high conversion efficiency solar cell devices. Films were grown on silver substrate, controlling the growth of the electrodeposited structures at the nanometric level. The obtained films were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, voltammetric stripping and atomic force microscopy. Experimental bandgap energies resulted linearly modulated by changes of chemical composition and thickness. On the basis of these results, we candidate electrodeposition as a room temperature method to obtain thin films for solar cell technology with low energy investment and negligible environmental impact. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.