A simulation study of the effect of the diverse valence-band offset and the electronic activity at the grain boundaries on the performance of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Nerat, Marko; Smole, F.; Topič, Marko

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.100

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Negative valence‐band offsets of 0.4 eV due to changes in composition at grain boundaries with widths of 2 nm were shown to lead to a situation in which (vertical) grain boundaries (virtually) do not affect the photovoltaic parameters at all . In yet another study, the device performance even improved for such a scenario . However, tunneling of charge carriers towards grain boundaries needs to be included .…”

Section: Multidimensional Modeling Of Extended Structural Defectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 Multidimensional modeling of extended structural defects Several groups [92][93][94][95][96] have already conducted multidimensional device simulations of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 solar cells, including the effects of grain boundaries (but not of other linear or planar defects). For highest conversion efficiencies, the average recombination velocities at grain boundaries must not be larger than about 1 × 10 4 cm/s [94] which agrees well with EBIC and CL measurements (Ref.…”

Section: Electrostatic Potential Distributions Between Neighboring Grmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review

Abou‐Ras

Schmidt

Schäfer

et al. 2016

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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The present review gives an overview of the various reports on properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films for high‐efficiency solar cells. We report results from various analysis techniques applied to characterize these defects at different length scales, which allow for drawing a consistent picture on structural and electronic defect properties. A key finding is atomic reconstruction detected at line and planar defects, which may be one mechanism to reduce excess charge densities and to relax deep‐defect states from midgap to shallow energy levels. On the other hand, nonradiative Shockley–Read–Hall recombination is still enhanced with respect to defect‐free grain interiors, which is correlated with substantial reduction of luminescence intensities. Comparison of the microscopic electrical properties of planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films with two‐dimensional device simulations suggest that these defects are one origin of the reduced open‐circuit voltage of the photovoltaic devices. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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Section: Multidimensional Modeling Of Extended Structural Defectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electrostatic Potential Distributions Between Neighboring Grmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review

Abou‐Ras

Schmidt

Schäfer

et al. 2016

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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“…Laser-beam-induced current (LBIC) maps of specially designed heterojunction solar cells with and without TCO layers of various areas were measured. ASPIN2, a two-dimensional solar cell simulator, 27 was used to simulate one-dimensional LBIC profiles of these cells and evaluate how different parameters (i.e., band discontinuities) impact the lateral transport.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of lateral transport through the inversion layer in amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

Filipič

Holman

Smole

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Physics

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In amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells, an inversion layer is present at the front interface. By combining numerical simulations and experiments, we examine the contribution of the inversion layer to lateral transport and assess whether this layer can be exploited to replace the front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) in devices. For this, heterojunction solar cells of different areas (2 Â 2, 4 Â 4, and 6 Â 6 mm 2 ) with and without TCO layers on the front side were prepared. Laser-beam-induced current measurements are compared with simulation results from the ASPIN2 semiconductor simulator. Current collection is constant across millimeter distances for cells with TCO; however, carriers traveling more than a few hundred microns in cells without TCO recombine before they can be collected. Simulations show that increasing the valence band offset increases the concentration of holes under the surface of n-type crystalline silicon, which increases the conductivity of the inversion layer. Unfortunately, this also impedes transport across the barrier to the emitter. We conclude that the lateral conductivity of the inversion layer may not suffice to fully replace the front TCO in heterojunction devices. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

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“…The shift in the boundary caused by distorted barrier [16]; this shift provides majority carriers (holes) in nductors [7]. On the other hand, CBO) at the GBs is considered tion-band minimum (CBM) at ligibly lower than the CBM in IGS with a low Ga content idered [5]. Fig.…”

Section: Effect Of Possible Gb Hole Bamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The low consumption of materials and energy during the manufacturing process and the low cost of polycrystalline solar cells fabrication are probably the key attributes that have attracted the researchers to the field. However, the grain inhomogeneities and grain sizes inherent in polycrystalline CIGS thin films make it challenging to assess material properties which have many effects to solar cell performances [5,6]. In the last years, a few theoretical as well as experimental works has been done to investigate the effect of grain sizes and grain boundaries on the transport properties of charge carriers in polycrystalline CIGS solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size and grain-boundary effects on the performance of polycrystalline CIGS-based solar cells

Bouchama

Rafik

Djessas³

et al. 2015

IREC2015 the Sixth International Renewable Energy Congress

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This work reviews the effect of Geometrical, physical and electrical parameters of the polycristalline CIGS thin film used as absorber materials in substrate CuIn 0.7 Ga 0.3 Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells. Two-dimensional device simulator Atlas SILVACO-TCAD was employed to study the performances of ZnO:Al/CdS/CIGS/Metal solar cell structure. The impacts of the grain sizes and the grain boundaries (GBs) in the polycrystalline p-CIGS absorber layer have been investigated. The variation of grain sizes in the CIGS bulk was studied and the corresponding design optimization was provided. The best energy conversion efficiencies have been obtained with large grain sizes higher than 2 μm for 3 μm-CIGS thick. The simulation results predict a strong detrimental effect of GBs recombination, which is enhanced by the presence of small width in the direction that attracts minority carriers. An efficiency of 17.1% (with V oc 0.68 V, J sc 34 mA/cm 2 and FF 0.77) has been achieved with small width at about 3 nm. The presence of the valence-band offset in the absorber layer is benign to solar cell performance by limit the carriers recombination. The valence-band offset is predicted to be 0.4 eV in magnitude and localized to a very thin layer at the grain surface in which the surface reconstruction takes place. All these simulation results give some important indication to lead a higher efficiency of polycrystalline CIGS solar cells for feasible fabrication.

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A simulation study of the effect of the diverse valence-band offset and the electronic activity at the grain boundaries on the performance of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review

Analysis of lateral transport through the inversion layer in amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

Size and grain-boundary effects on the performance of polycrystalline CIGS-based solar cells

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A simulation study of the effect of the diverse valence-band offset and the electronic activity at the grain boundaries on the performance of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films for solar cells – a review

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films for solar cells – a review

Analysis of lateral transport through the inversion layer in amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

Size and grain-boundary effects on the performance of polycrystalline CIGS-based solar cells

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Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review

Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells – a review