Abstract
Kesterite-structured quaternary compounds Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) semiconductors are drawing intensive attention as the light-absorbing materials in thin-film solar cells. Because all their component elements are earth-abundant and environment-friendly, their band gaps are close to the optimal band gap of the light-absorber semiconductor for single-junction solar cells, their absorption of visible light is strong, and their properties are similar to those of CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (thus compatible with the existing technology), Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4, and their alloys Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) are expected to replace CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 in next-generation thin-film solar cells with scalable production and wide-area application. In this chapter, we will introduce the fundamental material properties of Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4, and the related I2–II–IV–VI4 quaternary compound semiconductors, including how they are derived from binary II–VI semiconductors, crystal structures, electronic structure, alloys, thermodynamic stability, secondary phases, defects, and surfaces. Their influence on the electrical, optical, and photovoltaic performance will be discussed too. As a result of the increased chemical and structural freedom of these quaternary semiconductors, these properties are much more flexible and complicated than those of simple elemental and binary semiconductors, and are also critical for understanding the limiting mechanism to the solar cell performance.
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Acknowledgements
I thank Prof. Aron Walsh, Prof. Su-Huai Wei, and Prof. Xin-Gao Gong for their long-term help and inspiring discussion, and Mr. Peng Xu and Mr. Kun Luo for their help in the preparation of this chapter.
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Chen, S. (2016). Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4, and Related Materials. In: Paranthaman, M., Wong-Ng, W., Bhattacharya, R. (eds) Semiconductor Materials for Solar Photovoltaic Cells. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 218. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20331-7_3
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