Cu(Zn,Sn)(S,Se)2 Solar Cells with a Nanocomposite Window Layer Produced by Totally Nonvacuum Methods

The authors report the optical and electrical properties of nanocomposite films of Ag-nanowires (Ag-NWs) and indium-tin oxide nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) and their application in window electrodes in solar cells. We found that the electrical and optical properties of Ag-NWs/ITO-NPs nanocomposite films strongly depend on the thickness. Nanocomposite film with 1000 nm thickness was observed to be most suitable for application as window electrodes in Cu(Zn,Sn)(S,Se)2 solar cells. The parameters of the cell using a 1000 nm-thick nanocomposite window electrode are short-circuit current density of 24.2 mA/cm2, open-circuit voltage of 0.32 V, fill factor of 0.44, and conversion efficiency of 3.37%. The results demonstrated an economical pathway for fabricating solar cells without vacuum methods.