Accelerated publication 17.1% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub>‐based thin‐film solar cell

Tuttle, J. R.; Contreras, Miguel Á.; Gillespie, T.; Ramanathan, K.; Tennant, A.; Keane, J.; Gabor, Andrew M.; Noufi, R.

doi:10.1002/pip.4670030404

Cited by 73 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The chemical bath process is well known as a deposition process for polycrystalline or amorphous thin films [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The method requires the presence of reagents that act as a source of chalcogen ions and complexion of the metal ion of interest.…”

Section: Chemical Bath Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The window layers used in these high-performance solar cells are usually composed of two materials: a CdS buffer layer (Eg = 2.42 eV) and a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) top layer such as ZnO and In 2 O 3 [1][2][3][4][5]. An attractive topic in the R&D activities on chalcopyritebased absorbers is to fabricate a Cd-free device structure [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

Ennaoui¹

2000

Can. J. Phys.

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The highest efficiency for Cu(Ga,In)Se 2 (CIGS) thin-film-based solar cells has been achieved with CdS buffer layers prepared by a solution growth method known as the chemical bath deposition (CBD). With the aim of developing Cd-free chalcopyrite-based thin-film solar cells, we describe the basic concepts involved in the CBD technique. The recipes developed in our laboratory for the heterogeneous deposition of good-quality thin films of ZnO, ZnSe, and MnS are presented. In view of device optimization, the initial formation of chemical-bathdeposited ZnSe thin films on Cu(Ga,In)(S,Se) 2 (CIGSS) and the subsequent development of the ZnSe/CIGSS heterojunctions were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The good surface coverage was controlled by measuring changes in the valence-band electronic structure as well as changes in the In4d, Zn3d core lines. From these measurements, the growth rate was found to be around 3.6 nm/min. The valence band and the conduction band-offsets E V and E C between the layers were determined to be 0.60 and 1.27 eV, respectively for the CIGSS/ZnSe interface. The energy-band diagram is discussed in connection with the band-offsets detemined from XPS data. A ZnSe thickness below 10 nm has been found to be optimum for achieving a homogeneous and compact buffer layer on CIGSS with a total area efficiency of 13.7%.Résumé : Le plus haut rendement pour des cellules solaires en couche mince de Cu(Ga,In)Se 2 (CIGS) a été obtenu avec des couches tampons de CdS préparées par une méthode de croissance en solution, appelée dépôt en bain chimique (CBD). Le but est de développer des cellules solaires chalcopyrites en couches minces sans Cd et nous décrivons ici les concepts de base de la technique CBD. Nous présentons les recettes développées dans notre laboratoire pour faire des dépôts hétérogènes de haute qualité de couches minces de ZnO, ZnSe et MnS. Afin d'optimiser le processus, nous utilisons la spectroscopie X des photoélectrons (XPS) pour étudier la formation initiale de couches minces de ZnSe déposées en bain chimique sur du Cu(Ga,In)(S,Se) 2 (CIGSS) et le développement subséquent des hétérojonctions ZnSe/(CIGSS). Le bon recouvrement de la surface est contrôlé en mesurant les changements dans la structure électronique de la bande de valence aussi bien que dans les lignes du coeur In4d, Zn3d. Ces mesures nous indiquent que le taux de croissance est d'environ 3,6 nm/min. Les décalages E V et E C des bandes de valence et de conduction entre les couches sont de 0,60 et 1,27 eV respectivement pour l'interface CIGSS/ZnSe. Nous analysons le diagramme des bandes

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Section: Chemical Bath Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

Ennaoui¹

2000

Can. J. Phys.

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“…[1][2][3] Recently, it was realized that ZnO could be an ideal material for low-cost light-emitting diodes and lasers because of its large exciton binding energy and the availability of large-area ZnO substrates. [4][5][6] So far, most ZnO thin films and bulk crystals are found to contain a high density of extended defects, such as stacking faults, dislocations, and twin boundaries.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

[11¯00]∕(1102)twin boundaries in wurtzite
Yan
¹
,
Al‐Jassim
²
,
Chisholm
³

et al. 2005
Phys. Rev. B

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The atomic structure and electronic effects of the ͓1100͔ / ͑1102͒ twin boundary in ZnO are studied using the combination of high-resolution Z-contrast imaging, first-principles density-functional total-energy calculations, and image simulations. The twin boundary is found to have the head-to-tail polarity configuration, which avoids dangling bonds, leading to a low twin-boundary energy of 0.040 J / m 2 . We further find that the same twin boundaries in wurtzite group-III-nitrides adopt the same structure, but the twin-boundary energies, 0.109 J / m 2 in AlN, 0.107 J / m 2 in GaN, and 0.051 J / m 2 in InN, are higher than in ZnO. Investigations of the electronic structure reveal that the twin boundary does not introduce localized energy states in the band gap in either ZnO or the wurtzite group-III-nitrides.

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“…But filtering the spectrum also reduces the total illumination intensity. Transport properties in a-Si materials are known to be intensity dependent due to trapping of photocarriers and movement of the Fermi level under illumination [362,363] and spectrally dependent as well [364,365].…”

Section: Effect Of Intensity and Illumination Spectra On -Lc And V Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing and modeling issues for thin-film solar cell devices. Final report

Birkmire¹,

Phillips

1997

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This publication was reproduced from the best available camera-ready copy submiited t.y the subconuactor and received no editoriai review at NREL NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States goverment nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees. makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liabiiii or responsibility for the accurxy, completeness. or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily consiiute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or tavoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereo". Available to DOE and DOE contractors from:Cffice of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) P SUMMARYDuring the third phase of the subcontract, IEC researchers have continued to provide the thin film PV community with greater depth of understanding and insight into a wide variety of issues including: the deposition and characterization of CuInl-,GaxSe2, a-Si, CdTe, CdS, and TCO thin films; the relationships between film and device properties; and the processing and analysis of thin film PV devices. This has been achieved through the systematic investigation of all aspects of film and device production and through the analysis and quantification of the reaction chemistries involved in thin fdm deposition. This methodology has led to controlled fabrications of 15% efficient CuInl,GaxSe2 solar cells over a wide range of Ga compositions, improved process control of the fabrication of 10% efficient a-Si solar cells, and reliable and generally applicable procedures for both contacting and doping CdTe films. Additional accomplishments are listed below. Cu(InGa)Se, Multisource EvaporationCu(InGa)Se, films have been deposited by elemental evaporation with Ga composition ranging from 0.25 < x < 0.80. The films are deposited with the Ga uniformly distributed from the Mo back contact to the front surface. This allows the effects of increasing Ga to be characterized without differences in the device operation due to gradients in the electrical and optical properties of the Cu(InGa)Se,.The solar cells fabricated from these uniform films have 15% efficiency for x < 0.5 or Eg < 1.3 eV. V, increases over the entire range of Ga content, up to 820 mV, but the device efficiency declines with high Ga content due primarily to a drop in fill factor and short circuit current. Analysis of current-voltage and quantum efficiency results show that the main cause of this drop off is a voltage dependent current collection. Finally, preliminary results show that the fill factor can be improved by grading the bandgap of the Cu(InGa)Se,,...

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Accelerated publication 17.1% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se₂‐based thin‐film solar cell

Cited by 73 publications

References 3 publications

Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

[11¯00]∕(1102)twin boundaries in wurtzite
Yan
¹
,
Al‐Jassim
²
,
Chisholm
³

et al. 2005
Phys. Rev. B

Processing and modeling issues for thin-film solar cell devices. Final report

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Accelerated publication 17.1% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2‐based thin‐film solar cell

Cited by 73 publications

References 3 publications

Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

Chemical bath process for highly efficient Cd-free chalcopyrite thin-film-based solar cells

[11¯00]∕(1102)twin boundaries in wurtziteYan1, Al‐Jassim2, Chisholm3 et al. 2005Phys. Rev. B

Processing and modeling issues for thin-film solar cell devices. Final report

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Accelerated publication 17.1% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se₂‐based thin‐film solar cell

[11¯00]∕(1102)twin boundaries in wurtzite
Yan
¹
,
Al‐Jassim
²
,
Chisholm
³

et al. 2005
Phys. Rev. B