Ultrahigh-Performance Cu₂ZnSnS₄ Thin Film and Its Application in Microscale Thin-Film Lithium-Ion Battery: Comparison with SnO₂

To develop a high-performance anode for thin-film lithium-ion batteries (TFBs, with a total thickness on the scale of micrometers), a Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin film is fabricated by magnetron sputtering and exhibits an ultrahigh performance of 950 mAh g^–1 even after 500 cycles, which is the highest among the reported CZTS for lithium storage so far. The characterization and electrochemical tests reveal that the thin-film structure and additional reactions both contribute to the excellent properties. Furthermore, the microscale TFBs with effective footprints of 0.52 mm² utilizing the CZTS thin film as anode are manufactured by microfabrication techniques, showing superior capability than the analogous TFBs with the SnO₂ thin film as anode. This work demonstrates the advantages of exploiting thin-film electrodes and novel materials into micropower sources by electronic manufacture methods.