Closed-space sublimation process for production of CZTS thin-films

1. A method comprising:

depositing a precursor layer onto a substrate, the precursor layer comprising Cu, Zn, and Sn, and one or more of S or Se;

introducing a source-material layer into contact with the precursor layer, the source-material layer comprising Sn and one or more of S or Se; and

annealing the precursor layer and the source-material layer, wherein the annealing is performed in a constrained volume and with the source-material layer in contact with the precursor layer while controlling a partial pressure of at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof which decomposes from the source-material layer during the annealing in the constrained volume to suppress decomposition of the precursor layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises glass.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor layer comprises crystalline Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 .

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor layer comprises approximately 5-50 atomic % Cu, approximately 5-50 atomic % Zn, approximately 5-50 atomic % Sn, approximately 5-50 atomic % S, and approximately 5-50 atomic % Se.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor layer comprises Cu x Zn y Sn z (S α Se i−α ) β , and wherein approximately 0.5≦x≦3, approximately y=1, approximately 0.5≦z≦3, approximately 0≦α≦5, and approximately 0β≦5.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the precursor layer further comprises nanoparticles comprising Cu, Zn, Sn, or one or more of S or Se.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor layer comprises a first thin-film layer comprising Cu, a second thin-film layer comprising Zn, and a third-film layer comprising Sn.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor layer comprises:

a first thin-film layer comprising Cu a S b /Cu a Se b , wherein approximately 0.5≦a≦2 and approximately b=1;

a second thin-film layer comprising Zn c S d /Zn c Se d , wherein approximately 0.5≦c≦2 and approximately d=1; and

a third-film layer comprising Sn e S f /Sn e Se f , wherein approximately 0.5≦e≦2 and approximately f=1.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source-material layer comprises approximately 30-70 atomic % Sn and approximately 30-70 atomic % S.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source-material layer comprises approximately 30-70 atomic % Sn, approximately 30-70 atomic % S, and approximately 30-70 atomic % Se.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presence of the source-material layer reduces decomposition of the precursor layer during annealing.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presence of the source-material layer reduces sublimation of the precursor layer during annealing.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source-material layer sublimes during the annealing to form gaseous SnS, gaseous SnSe, gaseous sulfur, gaseous selenium, or any combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source-material layer is deposited on a sheet.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the sheet comprises glass.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein annealing comprises heating the precursor layer to a first temperature of approximately 350 degrees Celsius to approximately 700 degrees Celsius, holding the precursor layer at the first temperature for approximately 5 minutes to approximately 120 minutes, and then cooling the precursor layer to a second temperature of approximately 20 degrees Celsius to approximately 100 degrees Celsius.

17. A method comprising:

depositing a precursor layer onto a substrate, the precursor layer including Cu, Zn, and Sn;

placing a source-material layer in contact with the precursor layer, the source-material layer comprising Sn and one or more of S or Se; and

annealing the precursor layer and the source-material layer,

wherein:

one or more of S or Se is deposited from the source-material layer to the precursor layer during annealing; and

the annealing is performed in a constrained volume and with the source-material layer being in contact with the precursor layer and a partial pressure of at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof which decomposes from the source-material layer during the annealing in the constrained volume is controlled during the annealing to suppress decomposition of the precursor layer.

18. A method comprising:

depositing a precursor layer onto a substrate, the precursor layer including Cu, Zn, Sn, and one or more of S or Se;

depositing a source-material layer into contact with the precursor layer, the source-material layer comprising Sn and one or more of S or Se; and

annealing the precursor layer and the source-material layer, wherein the annealing is performed in a constrained volume and with the source-material layer being in contact with the precursor layer while controlling a partial pressure of at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof which decomposes from the source-material layer during the annealing in the constrained volume to suppress decomposition of the precursor layer.

19. A method comprising:

depositing a precursor layer onto a substrate, the precursor layer comprising Cu, Zn, and Sn, and one or more of S or Se;

introducing a source-material layer into contact with the precursor layer, the source-material layer comprising Sn and one or more of S or Se;

annealing the precursor layer in contact with the source-material layer, wherein the annealing is performed in a constrained volume containing at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof; and

controlling a partial pressure of the at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof in the constrained volume during the annealing to suppress decomposition of the precursor layer,

wherein at least one of gaseous SnS, SnSe, Se, S and any combination thereof decomposes from the source-material layer during the annealing.