Synthesis of Bulk Kesterite – A Prospective Photovoltaic Material

A rapid development of photovoltaics has been observed recently. Permanent interest in new cheap and efficient photovoltaic devices stimulates a constant search for new semiconductor materials and structures. The success of materials based on CIGS (CuIn1–xGaxSe2) is limited by the prohibitive prices of the elements In and Ga. A family of quaternary semiconducting materials of the Cu2ZnSnS4 type, crystallizing mainly in the kesterite structure, offers a promise of new cheap photovoltaic materials. Kesterite is manufactured from nontoxic and naturally abundant materials. The energy gap of Cu2ZnSnS4 is about 1.5 eV, and the absorption coefficient of this direct-band-gap material is α > 104 cm–1 for photon energies higher than the energy gap. In this paper, we report a method of obtaining free-standing single crystals of kesterite (Cu2ZnSnS4).