Well-crystallized vanadium pentoxide V2O5 thin films are fabricated on MgO single crystal substrates by using pulsed-laser deposition technique. The linear optical transmission spectra are measured and found to be in a wavelength range from 300 to 800 nm; the data are used to determine the linear refractive index of the V2O5 films. The value of linear refractive index decreases with increasing wavelength, and the relationship can be well explained by Wemple’s theory. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of the films are determined by a single beam z-scan method at a wavelength of 532 nm. The results show that the prepared V2O5 films exhibit a fast third-order nonlinear optical response with nonlinear absorption coefficient and nonlinear refractive index of 2.13 × 10−10 m/W and 2.07 × 10−15 cm2/kW, respectively. The real and imaginary parts of the nonlinear susceptibility are determined to be 3.03 × 10−11 esu and 1.12 × 10−11 esu, respectively. The enhancement of the nonlinear optical properties is discussed.

The Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin film solar cell is a candidate next generation thin film solar cell. For the application of an absorption layer in solar cells, CZTS thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at substrate temperature of 300˚C without post annealing process. Deposition time was carefully adjusted as the main experimental variable. Regardless of deposition time, single phase CZTS thin films are obtained with no existence of secondary phases. Irregularly-shaped grains are densely formed on the surface of CZTS thin films. With increasing deposition time, the grain size increases and the thickness of the CZTS thin films increases from 0.16 to 1μm. The variation of the surface morphology and thickness of the CZTS thin films depends on the deposition time. The stoichiometry of all CZTS thin films shows a Cu-rich and S-poor state. Sn content gradually increases as deposition time increases. Secondary ion mass spectrometry was carried out to evaluate the elemental depth distribution in CZTS thin films. The optimal deposition time to grow CZTS thin films is 150 min. In this study, we show the effect of deposition time on the structural properties of CZTS thin film deposited on soda lime glass (SLG) substrate using PLD. We present a comprehensive evaluation of CZTS thin films.