Preparation and characterization of mawsonite Cu₆Fe₂SnS₈ [CFTS] thin films via the semi-computerized spray pyrolysis technique for photovoltaic applications

The research included the preparation and study of the structural and optical properties of a compound Mawsonite Cu₆Fe₂SnS₈ [CFTS] films. That was prepared using a semi-computerized spray pyrolysis technique (SCSPT), it is the first time that it is prepared and study of the structure and opticl properties of mawsoniteCu₆Fe₂S₈Sn with this technique. Films were deposited on a substrate from glass with temperature of substrate was (300±5C°), and spray rate (12 ml/min). The XRD gave polycrystalline nature with tetragonal crystal system, and the EDX showed that the film contain the elements (Cu, Fe, Sn,S) indicating formation of the Cu₆Fe₂S₈Sn films with high purity. Also showed FTIR measurements of chemical bonds of a compound clearly,(SEM) Show clearly was that the formed thin films under the optimum conditions were homogeneous,dense and compact, and(AFM) showed the topography of the film surface where surface roughness was found to be 40.7 nm, root mean square is 51.4 nm., and the average granularity diameter was 382.75 nm. The optical properties(absorbance, coefficient of absorption, coefficient of extinction, index of refractive, optical Conductivity, the real ε₁ and imaginary ε₂ part of the dielectric constant )were decreases with increasing wavelength, while the transmittance increases with increasing wavelength. The optic energy gap was (1.71eV) and this is a great alteration of optic energy gap values for photovoltaic (PV) utilization.