Recent progress in CZTS (CuZnSnS4) thin-film solar cells: a review Rabin Paul, Shweta Shukla, Trupti Ranjan Lenka, Fazal Ahmed Talukdar, Vishal Goyal, Nour El Islam Boukortt, and P. Susthitha Menon Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Assam 788010, India Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, UP 281406, India Centro Singular de Investigación en Tecnoloxías Intelíxentes, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Received: 20 August 2023 Accepted: 8 January 2024 Published online: 25 January 2024 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature, 2024 Abstract In the renewable energy sector, solar energy has emerged as a very abundant resource, which has its implementation from very large-scale industries to household uses. The market of solar cells has been monopolized by thick-film Silicon solar cells ever since its initial development. However, with recent advancements, thin film has become the preferred design for solar cells because of several upper hands it proved over the thick cells. CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide) and CdS (Cadmium Selenide) have shown tremendous performances in the thin-film sector. But with toxicity and cost factors, these cells are never that feasible. So, CZTS (CuZnSn Sulfide) which has come as a replacement for CIGS, has shown extraordinary photovoltaic nature with very high light absorption characteristics. Further, the constituents of CZTS are abundant in nature which reduces the cost involved. To enhance efficiency, numerous structural and material features have been experimentally modified. The single-junction CZTS solar cell, however, has yet to achieve an efficiency of more than 13%, despite numerous attempts. This article presents a thorough analysis of the advancements made and potential applications for the CZTS thin-film solar cell (TFSC). This manuscript outlines the development of the TFSC, the fabrication process, the design of the TFSC, the defects in the CZTS, and the potential use of the TFSC as a solar cell.Recent progress in CZTS (CuZnSnS4) thin-film solar cells: a review Rabin Paul, Shweta Shukla, Trupti Ranjan Lenka, Fazal Ahmed Talukdar, Vishal Goyal, Nour El Islam Boukortt, and P. Susthitha Menon Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Assam 788010, India Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, UP 281406, India Centro Singular de Investigación en Tecnoloxías Intelíxentes, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Received: 20 August 2023 Accepted: 8 January 2024 Published online: 25 January 2024 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature, 2024 Abstract In the renewable energy sector, solar energy has emerged as a very abundant resource, which has its implementation from very large-scale industries to household uses. The market of solar cells has been monopolized by thick-film Silicon solar cells ever since its initial development. However, with recent advancements, thin film has become the preferred design for solar cells because of several upper hands it proved over the thick cells. CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide) and CdS (Cadmium Selenide) have shown tremendous performances in the thin-film sector. But with toxicity and cost factors, these cells are never that feasible. So, CZTS (CuZnSn Sulfide) which has come as a replacement for CIGS, has shown extraordinary photovoltaic nature with very high light absorption characteristics. Further, the constituents of CZTS are abundant in nature which reduces the cost involved. To enhance efficiency, numerous structural and material features have been experimentally modified. The single-junction CZTS solar cell, however, has yet to achieve an efficiency of more than 13%, despite numerous attempts. This article presents a thorough analysis of the advancements made and potential applications for the CZTS thin-film solar cell (TFSC). This manuscript outlines the development of the TFSC, the fabrication process, the design of the TFSC, the defects in the CZTS, and the potential use of the TFSC as a solar cell.