| | Method | Precursor | Efficiency (%) | Comments |
| | Vacuum thermal evaporation | Cu, Zn, Sn, S | 8.4 [19] | Has been used commercially, fast process compared to sputtering, better purity, high energy requirements to create vacuum, difficulties in scaling up, thickness control may be problematic |
| | Sputtering | Cu, SnS, ZnS | 6.77 [20] | Slower than evaporation, scaling up is easier, higher capital costs, accounts for significant part of commercial production of CIGS cells, vacuum process leading to higher energy requirements, cost-effective |
| | Electrodeposition | Cu(II) ion, Zn(II) ion, Sn(IV) ion | 7.3 [21] | Generally more environmentally friendly, usually nontoxic; for copper, zinc, tin, electrodeposition is carried out at room temperature, reducing energy requirements; has been commercially used; thickness control may be problematic |
| | Sol-gel based method | Copper (II) acetate monohydrate
Zinc (II) acetate dehydrate
Tin (II) chloride dehydrate | 2.23 [22] | Simple and versatile, cost-effective, environmentally friendly due to lower temperatures |
| | Pulsed laser deposition | In-house fabricated CZTS pellet | 3.14 [23] | Vacuum process, higher energy requirements, scaling up difficulties, composition and thickness dependence on deposition conditions not yet well understood |
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