On the Impact of Cadmium Sulfide Layer Thickness on Kesterite Photodetector Performance

Kesterites are currently viewed as one of the most promising candidates for earth abundant and benign elements to substitute critical raw materials in photovoltaic technologies and may also be suitable for low-noise, room-temperature, self-powered photodetectors. However, while the impact of buffer layers on kesterite solar cell efficiency has been an active area of investigation, links between photodetector performance and intermediate layers are yet to be addressed. Herein, the impact of cadmium sulfide buffer layers on the performance of kesterite (Cu2ZnSnS4) photodetectors is probed. Specifically, the effect of buffer layer thickness on various photodetector performance metrices is clarified, including noise current, spectral responsivity, noise equivalent power, frequency response, and specific detectivity. Devices with a 100 nm cadmium sulfide layer perform the best, achieving a linear dynamic range of 180 dB and frequency responses in the range of tens of kHz. The key loss mechanisms are identified, and it is found that the photodetector performance to be primarily limited by shunt resistance-induced thermal noise and defect-induced nonradiative losses. Furthermore, we estimate the upper radiative limit of specific detectivity to be approximately 1019 Jones. Our results highlight the potential of kesterites to be used as an interesting earth abundant candidate for photodetection applications.