Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) thin films were synthetized using a simple and cost-effective method such as Spray Pyrolysis. The influence of substrate temperature on the properties of Cu2ZnSnS 4 thin films was investigated. The structural and morphological properties of the films were characterized by mean of X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The films properties were studied using UV visible transmittance spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL). A four probes technique was used to study the electrical properties. XRD analysis indicated that the films were composed of nanocrystalline monophasic Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 with (112) preferential orientation, and the crystalline size varied from 2 to 14 nm with increasing substrate temperature. Scanning electron microcopy (SEM) revealed the formation of dense and continuous films. Elemental analysis indicated that the prepared films were Zn-poor which was confirmed by the PL study that revealed the presence of Zn vacancy defects, these acceptor defects are at the origin of the measured high conductivity. The film’s electrical conductivity varies in the range of 6–10 2 (Ω.cm) −1 . The optical films characterization indicate that the obtained films have a large absorption in the UV visible range and a band gap in the range of 1.6–1.7 eV, suggesting their potential applications as absorber layer in thin film based solar cells.
Al-Sheikhi et al. (2026) studied this question.