Characterization of Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 monograin powders by FE-SEM

• Author(s): Neves, Filipe ; Livramento, Vanessa ; Martins, Isabel M. ; Esperto, Luís ; Santos, Mário J. G. ; Correia, J. Brito ; Muska, K. ; Holopainen, T.
• Date: 2013
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/2437
• Origin: Repositório do LNEG
• Subject(s): Solar cells; Energy conversion; Surfaces; Materials
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

The design and synthesis of high-efficiency materials to convert solar to electrical energy is an increasingly important research field. Within the photovoltaic technologies, crystalline Si have an 80% share while the remaining 20% are mostly thin film solar cells based on Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSSe) and CdTe [1,2]. However,the cost, the abundance and the environmental impact of the elemental components cannot be neglected. For these reasons, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe)and their solid solutions CZTSSe has attracted much attention recently since they can provide the development of cost competitive solar cells. The CZTS-based solar cells consist of earth abundant and relatively inexpensive elements and represent an environmentally friendly alternative compared to the above mentioned systems [3]. The energy conversion efficiency of the CZTS-based solar cells has increased from 0.66% in 1996 to 11.1% recently [4].