The Path to Improve Kesterite Solar Cell Efficiency

Abstract

Kesterite semiconductors such as Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 have received a great deal of attention from scientific community for solar cell applications since they present p-type conductivity, direct band-gap transitions, a relatively high absorption coefficient and a band-gap that can be tailored in the range of 1.0—1.5 eV as a function of Se/S compositional ratio. Besides, these materials are based on abundant and low toxicity elements. In spite of the great effort carried out by the scientific community to promote device perfor- mance, Kesterite solar cell efficiency is still limited to values lower than 13%. In this sense, new strategies are required to overcome currently reported values. In this paper, a minireview on the state of the art concerning Kesterite solar cell technology is presented. Different current trends to promote Kesterite solar cell efficiency are presented and discussed.