Photovoltaic effect in earth abundant solution processed Cu2MnSnS4 and Cu2MnSn(S,Se)4 thin films

In this work, we present the first report on thin film solar cells that employ Cu2MnSnS4 (CMTS) and Cu2MnSn(S, Se)4 (CMTSSe) as the absorber. CMTS and CMTSSe thin films are fabricated using a low cost spray pyrolysis technique in ambient atmosphere using water as a solvent. The crystal structure of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy materials and solar cells 2016-12, Vol.157, p.867-873
Main Authors: Prabhakar, Rajiv Ramanujam, Zhenghua, Su, Xin, Zeng, Baikie, Tom, Woei, Leow Shin, Shukla, Sudhanshu, Batabyal, Sudip K., Gunawan, Oki, Wong, Lydia Helena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cu2MnSn(S,Se)4
Cu2MnSnS4
Earth Abundant materials
Photovoltaics
Thin film
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Summary:In this work, we present the first report on thin film solar cells that employ Cu2MnSnS4 (CMTS) and Cu2MnSn(S, Se)4 (CMTSSe) as the absorber. CMTS and CMTSSe thin films are fabricated using a low cost spray pyrolysis technique in ambient atmosphere using water as a solvent. The crystal structure of the materials are similar to the established kesterite type photovoltaic materials such as Cu2ZnSn(S, Se)4 (CZTSSe). The bandgap of these materials is between 1.4−1.7eV, which is ideal for optimum solar absorption and can be tuned by varying the ratio of the elemental constituents. The photovoltaic device with a structure of Mo/CMTS/CdS/TCO/top electrode is fabricated as a proof-of-concept and yields a power conversion efficiency of ~0.73% for the best optimized CMTS device with Na doping. Through analysis of the device characteristics, we identify a key problem of very high carrier density in the CMTS/CMTSSe absorber that leads to short collection length, low Voc, low quantum efficiency at long wavelength and high shunt conductance that quench the fill factor. We also discuss several routes to improve the device performance. •First report on the photovoltaic effect of CMTS/CMTSSe thin film.•Possible solution for elimination of Cu–Zn antisites in CZTS solar cell.•Identified the key issue limiting the power conversion efficiencies in CMTS and CMTSSe using AC Hall measurements.•Novel non-toxic approach to prepare solar absorbers.•First demonstration of CMTS/CMTSSe thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis.
ISSN:0927-0248
1879-3398
DOI:10.1016/j.solmat.2016.07.006