A truly simple, reproducible, and environmentally friendly non-vacuum synthesis method for synthesising of carbon-free Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ (CZTSe) absorber layer has been presented. The stannite CZTSe nanoparticles with an average size of about 20 nm distributions were fabricated by an ambient mechanical milling procedure using Cu₂Se, Zn, Sn, elemental selenium powders as raw materials and non-toxic ethanol as solvent. The compact CZTSe thin films were formed via an annealing treatment under Ar/Se atmosphere using rapid thermal processing. The optical properties of the obtained CZTSe thin films are the absorption coefficient (α) exceeding 10⁴ cm⁻¹ and E _g of 0.91 eV. The electrical properties of the CZTSe thin films indicate p-type semiconductor behaviour. The photovoltaic properties of this solar cell are power conversion efficiency of 0.18%.

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Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ thin-film solar cells from nanoparticles by a non-vacuum mechanical ball milling and rapid thermal processing

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Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin-film solar cells from nanoparticles by a non-vacuum mechanical ball milling and rapid thermal processing

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Synthesis of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ thin-film solar cells from nanoparticles by a non-vacuum mechanical ball milling and rapid thermal processing