Dry mill route for synthesis of single phase bulk and e-beam growth of thin films of Cu2ZnSnSe4 for photovoltaic applications

摘要

In this present work, we have evaluated a reliable and simple route for synthesis of single-phase Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) bulk material through dry ball milling method from elemental precursors (Cu, Zn, Sn, Se) in argon atmosphere. At every single hour of dry milling process, evolution towards single phase CZTSe and corresponding secondary phase depletion were studied in detail using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy analyses. Rietveld refinement of XRD data, high-resolution TEM and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) analyses of milled CZTSe were done to confirm the phase purity. Optical and hall measurements have been carried out to compare the viability of dry milling method with conventional synthesis process. Thin films have been grown by electron beam evaporation method wherein the dry milled powder was used as source material. Thin films grown at -100 degrees C were subsequently vacuum annealed at -480 degrees C and characterized using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption analysis and photoresponse measurements to check the compatibility of the films for photovoltaic applications. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.