Pre-sulfurization-driven enhancement of structural, optical, electrical and photosensing properties in CZTS thin films
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS, cilt.37, sa.20, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 37 Sayı: 20
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10854-026-17938-x
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, INSPEC, MEDLINE, Engineering Source (EBSCO), Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This work systematically investigates the effect of pre-sulfurization duration (0, 1, 5, and 10 min at 250 degrees C) on the structural, optical, electrical, and photodetector (PD) performance of CZTS thin films. The films were deposited on flexible Mo-foil and glass substrates via magnetron sputtering followed by rapid thermal processing (RTP). Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis confirmed a Cu-poor (Cu/(Zn + Sn) < 1) and Zn-rich (Zn/Sn > 1) composition, which is favorable for CZTS-based device applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed the formation of the kesterite CZTS phase with a preferred (112) orientation, while Raman spectroscopy indicated the presence of minor Cu2SnS2 (CTS) secondary phases. Among all samples, the CZTS-5 film exhibited relatively improved phase purity with fewer secondary phase-related signals. SEM analysis demonstrated that the microstructure and surface morphology are strongly influenced by pre-sulfurization duration. The non-pre-sulfurized sample (CZTS-0) exhibits a band gap of 1.59 eV, while pre-sulfurization for 1, 5, and 10 min results in band gaps of 1.42, 1.45, and 1.44 eV, respectively. The results indicate that pre-sulfurization plays a critical role in controlling defect density and crystallinity, which directly affect the electrical and optoelectronic properties. In terms of device performance, the CZTS-1 photodetector exhibited the fastest response (210 ms) and recovery (316 ms) times under blue light illumination, while the CZTS-10 device achieved the highest responsivity (4.1 mA/W), detectivity (similar to 10(8) Jones), and EQE (1.14%). Overall, this work demonstrates that optimizing pre-sulfurization duration is an effective strategy for tailoring the material properties and enhancing the performance of CZTS-based photodetectors, providing insights for future optoelectronic device applications.