Open Access

ARTICLE

Improvement and optimization of Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ structure for optoelectronic applications

A. Skender^a, A. Aissat^a,b,c,*, J. P. Vilcot^c

a LATSI Laboratory, Faculty of Technology, University of Saad Dahlab Blida1, Algeria
b University of Ahmed Draia, Adrar, Algeria
c Institute of Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnology (IEMN), UMR CNRS 8520, University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille 1, Avenue Poincare, 60069, 59652 Villeneuve of Ascq, France

* Corresponding Author:

Chalcogenide Letters 2024, 21(8), 651-663. https://doi.org/10.15251/CL.2024.218.651

Received 18 May 2024; Accepted 15 August 2024;

Abstract

The use of semiconductors based on abundant and less expensive materials in photovoltaic industry has grown since electricity consumption has increased, alloys such as Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ have recently attracted attention, due to its structural, optical and electronic properties which make it a very promising candidate as an absorber layer in photovoltaic applications. The lattice mismatch of Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ with Cu2NiGeS4 as substrate for solar cell architecture reveals that low Se content (0.1≤x≤0.4) is favorable, and thus, by reducing Se content from 40 to 10% induces a decrease in optical parameters such as refractive index from 5.475 to 3.834 for near-infrared wavelengths, and both extinction and absorption coefficients are from 0.478 to 0.211 and from 7.956×10⁴ to 6.912×10⁴ cm^-1 , respectively, for almost along the visible spectrum. Additionally, the bandgap energy of Cu₂ZnSn(S_1-xSe_x)₄ in kesterite structure increases from 1.267 to 1.442 eV at room temperature, while the compressive strain of the epitaxial layer reduces from 3.93 to 2.39% and from 4.62 to 3.17% on the growth plane and following the direction of growth, respectively.

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Keywords

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