Thermally Evaporated Cu2CoSnS4 Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization

Guesmi, Omaima; Arbia, Marwa Ben; Saidi, Faouzi; Rabeh, Mohamed Ben; Rabehi, Abdelaziz; Habib, Mustapha; Comini, Elisabetta; Maaref, Hassen

doi:10.3390/cryst16090551

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Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization

by

Omaima Guesmi

¹,

Marwa Ben Arbia

^1,2

,

Faouzi Saidi

^1,3,

Mohamed Ben Rabeh

⁴,

Abdelaziz Rabehi

^5,*,

Mustapha Habib

^6,*

,

Elisabetta Comini

²

and

Hassen Maaref

¹

Laboratoire de Micro-Optoélectronique et Nanostructures (LR99ES29), Faculté des Sciences Monastir, Université de Monastir, Avenue de l’Environnement, Monastir 5019, Tunisia

²

Sensor Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Valotti 9, 25133 Brescia, Italy

³

Institut Supérieur des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie de Sousse, Université de Sousse, Sousse 4003, Tunisia

⁴

Photovoltaic and Semiconductor Materials Laboratory, National Engineering School of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia

⁵

Telecommunication and Smart Systems Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Djelfa, Djelfa 17000, Algeria

⁶

Civil and Architectural Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen, 78, 11428 Stockholm, Sweden

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Crystals 2026, 16(9), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16090551

Submission received: 17 July 2026 / Revised: 10 August 2026 / Accepted: 19 August 2026 / Published: 23 August 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Thin Films: Growth, Characterization, and Applications)

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Abstract

In this work, Cu₂CoSnS₄ (CCTS) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation and investigated for photovoltaic applications. The influence of substrate temperature, varied from 25 °C to 200 °C, on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the films was experimentally studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of crystalline CCTS with a stannite structure and a preferential orientation along the (112) plane. SEM observations revealed rough and non-uniform surfaces accompanied by an increase in grain size with increasing substrate temperature. Room-temperature PL measurements indicated a band-gap energy of approximately 1.3 eV, suitable for photovoltaic applications, and confirmed the presence of secondary phases in the p-type stannite CCTS films. Despite the promising photovoltaic properties of CCTS, numerical studies on CCTS-based solar cells remain scarce in the literature. In this context, a numerical study of the CCTS-based solar structure grown on glass was also performed using SCAPS-1D, showing good agreement with experimental photovoltaic results and validating the simulation model. Replacing the glass substrate with silicon improved the device efficiency to 5.77%. Further optimization of the series and shunt resistances significantly enhanced the photovoltaic performance, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 16.77%, with FF = 52.94%, V_oc = 0.89 V and J_sc = 35.19 mA/cm².

Keywords: Cu₂CoSnS₄; thin films; thermal evaporation; photovoltaic application; silicon substrate; SCAPS-1D simulation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Guesmi, O.; Arbia, M.B.; Saidi, F.; Rabeh, M.B.; Rabehi, A.; Habib, M.; Comini, E.; Maaref, H. Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization. Crystals 2026, 16, 551. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16090551

AMA Style

Guesmi O, Arbia MB, Saidi F, Rabeh MB, Rabehi A, Habib M, Comini E, Maaref H. Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization. Crystals. 2026; 16(9):551. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16090551

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guesmi, Omaima, Marwa Ben Arbia, Faouzi Saidi, Mohamed Ben Rabeh, Abdelaziz Rabehi, Mustapha Habib, Elisabetta Comini, and Hassen Maaref. 2026. "Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization" Crystals 16, no. 9: 551. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16090551

APA Style

Guesmi, O., Arbia, M. B., Saidi, F., Rabeh, M. B., Rabehi, A., Habib, M., Comini, E., & Maaref, H. (2026). Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization. Crystals, 16(9), 551. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16090551

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Thermally Evaporated Cu₂CoSnS₄ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Optimization

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