Proceedings of International Conference on Applied Innovation in IT
2026/03/31, Volume 14, Issue 1, pp.405-411

Characterization of Copper-Zinc-Tin Sulfide Thin Films Produced by Melt-Quenching and PVD


Nabeel Ali Bakr, Ali Talib Abbood, Falah Ibrahim Mustafa and Kiran Dasharath Diwate


Abstract: Copper–zinc–tin sulfide thin films were prepared through a 2-step route. In the first step, Cu₂ZnSnS₄ powder was produced by the melt-quenching method. These powders were then employed as source materials for thin-film fabrication via thermal evaporation, followed by annealing at 300 °C, 150 °C, and 50 °C. The resulting films were characterized using AFM, FE-SEM, XRD, and FTIR. XRD results confirmed the formation of polycrystalline CZTS films with a tetragonal crystal structure after thermal treatment. The crystallite size increased from approximately 9.53 nm to 16.22 nm as the temperature of annealing increased from 50 °C to 300 °C. Optical studies using Tauc’s relation indicated direct band gaps of 1.87, 1.90, and 1.95 eV at 300 °C, 150 °C, and 50 °C, respectively. These values are close to the optimal range for efficient photovoltaic conversion. AFM images showed that post-annealing surfaces were smooth, dense, and uniform, while FTIR spectra identified characteristic functional groups of the material. Hall effect analysis confirmed p-type conductivity for all samples. The annealed CZTS films demonstrate promising properties for use as cost-effective absorber layers in photovoltaic cells.

Keywords: CZTS Thin Films, Melt-quenching, Thermal Evaporation, Structural and Optical Properties, Hall Measurements.

DOI: Under indexing

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