First-principles insights into the electronic structure, optical and band alignment properties of earth-abundant Cu2SrSnS4 solar absorber

Dzade, Nelson Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7733-9473 2021. First-principles insights into the electronic structure, optical and band alignment properties of earth-abundant Cu2SrSnS4 solar absorber. Scientific Reports 11 (1) , 4755. 10.1038/s41598-021-84037-8

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Abstract

Cu2SrSnS4 (CSTS) is a promising alternative candidate to Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) for single- or multi-junction photovoltaics (PVs) owing to its efficient light-absorbing capability, earth-abundant, nontoxic constituents, and suitable defect properties. However, as a novel absorber material, several fundamental properties need to be characterized before further progress can be made in CSTS photovoltaics. In this letter, hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to comprehensively characterize for the first time, the electronic structure, band alignment, and optical properties of CSTS. It is demonstrated that CSTS possesses the ideal electronic structure (direct band gap of 1.98 eV and small photocarrier effective masses) and optical properties (high extinction coefficient and wide absorption) suitable for photovoltaic applications. Simulated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) valence band spectra using variable excitation energies show that Cu-3d electronic state dominates the valence band maximum of CSTS. Furthermore, the vacuum-aligned band diagram between CSTS and other common absorbers (CZTS, CIGS, CdTe) and the common n-type partner materials (CdS, ZnO) was constructed, which indicate staggered type-II band alignment at the CSTS/CdS and CSTS/ZnO interfaces. Based on these results, interface band offset engineering and alternative device architectures are suggested to improve charge carrier separation and power conversion efficiencies of CSTS.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Chemistry Advanced Research Computing @ Cardiff (ARCCA)
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2045-2322
Funders:	EPSRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 March 2021
Date of Acceptance:	20 January 2021
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 21:05
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/139167

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