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Effects of the growth process on surface morphology of Cu2(Sn1−xGex)S3 thin films

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Abstract

As a first step toward the realization of high-efficiency Cu2(Sn1-xGex)S3 (CTGS) solar cells, this study investigates the effects of the growth process, focusing on the crystalline structure and morphology of CTGS films formed via different growth processes. These processes include the sulfurization of the Ge/Cu/Sn-S precursor; sulfurization of Cu2SnS3 (CTS) with S and germanium sulfide (GeS) vapor; and co-evaporation of Cu, Sn, Ge, and S. The CTGS films obtained by sulfurization of the Ge/Cu/Sn-S precursor consistently exhibited the largest grain sizes. However, the surface roughness of CTGS films increased with increasing x ratio. Conversely, the CTGS films obtained by the re-sulfurization of CTS films previously formed in S and GeS mixed vapor exhibited both a large grain size and flat surface roughness, rendering them suitable for forming the p-n interface in a solar cell. Therefore, the re-sulfurization of CTS films previously formed in S and GeS mixed vapor is key for achieving high-efficiency solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was the result of using research equipment shared in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Project for promoting public utilization of advanced research infrastructure (Program for supporting construction of corefacilities) Grant Number [JPMXS0440900023]. A part of this work was supported by "Advanced Research Infrastructure for Materials and Nanotechnology in Japan (ARIM)" of the MEXT. Grant Number JPMXP1222AT0044. This research was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up, JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 22K20355, the Murata Science Foundation, the Uchida Energy Science Promotion Foundation, the Yamaguchi Educational and Scholarship Foundation, and the Renewable Energy Science and Technology Research Division under Tokyo University of Science, Japan.

Funding

This article was funded by Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up, JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 22K20355, Murata Science Foundation, Uchida Energy Science Promotion Foundation, Yamaguchi Educational and Scholarship Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronics and Information Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-2188, Japan

    Ayaka Kanai, Ray Ohashi & Kunihiko Tanaka

  2. Department of Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Nagaoka College, 888 Nishikatakai, Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-8532, Japan

    Hideaki Araki

  3. Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan

    Mutsumi Sugiyama

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  1. Ayaka Kanai
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Contributions

Ayaka Kanai: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Validation, Writing – original draft. Ray Ohashi: Investigation, Validation. Kunihiko Tanaka: Investigation, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Hideaki Araki: Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Mutsumi Sugiyama: Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

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Correspondence to Ayaka Kanai.

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Kanai, A., Ohashi, R., Tanaka, K. et al. Effects of the growth process on surface morphology of Cu2(Sn1−xGex)S3 thin films. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 526 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12248-6

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