Ageing of kesterite solar cells 1: Degradation processes and their influence on solar cell parameters

Neubauer, Christian; Samieipour, Ali; Oueslati, Souhaib; Danilson, Mati; Meißner, D.

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2018.11.043

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Furthermore, high radiation hardness for space applications has been shown [11]. Some work on long term stability has been reported for kesterite monograin solar cells reaching over 90% of initial efficiency after 3000 h of un-encapsulated dry heat exposure [12], demonstrating good stability of the material. For a thorough coverage of upscaling and reliability of kesterites, we refer to a dedicated paper in this special issue.There are several requirements that must be met by the contacts in kesterite solar cells.…”

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confidence: 99%

Back and front contacts in kesterite solar cells: state-of-the-art and open questions

et al. 2019

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We review the present state-of-the-art within back and front contacts in kesterite thin film solar cells, as well as the current challenges. At the back contact, molybdenum (Mo) is generally used, and thick Mo(S, Se) 2 films of up to several hundred nanometers are seen in record devices, in particular for selenium-rich kesterite. The electrical properties of Mo(S, Se) 2 can vary strongly depending on orientation and indiffusion of elements from the device stack, and there are indications that the back contact properties are less ideal in the sulfide as compared to the selenide case. However, the electronic interface structure of this contact is generally not well-studied and thus poorly understood, and more measurements are needed for a conclusive statement. Transparent back contacts is a relatively new topic attracting attention as crucial component in bifacial and multijunction solar cells. Front illuminated efficiencies of up to 6% have so far been achieved by adding interlayers that are not always fully transparent. For the front contact, a favorable energy level alignment at the kesterite/CdS interface can be confirmed for kesterite absorbers with an intermediate [S]/([S]+[Se]) composition. This agrees with the fact that kesterite absorbers of this composition reach highest efficiencies when CdS buffer layers are employed, while alternative buffer materials with larger band gap, such as Cd 1−x Zn x S or Zn 1−x Sn x O y , result in higher efficiencies than devices with CdS buffers when sulfurrich kesterite absorbers are used. Etching of the kesterite absorber surface, and annealing in air or inert atmosphere before or after buffer layer deposition, has shown strong impact on device performance. Heterojunction annealing to promote interdiffusion was used for the highest performing sulfide kesterite device and air-annealing was reported important for selenium-rich record solar cells. Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) absorbers for solar cell applications was first reported by Ito and Nakazawa [1]. Early results on CZTS device performance were reported by Friedlmeier et al [2], Seol et al [3], and Katagiri et al [4]. Later a group at IBM reached record performances with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) above 10% for CZTSSe devices in 2010 [5] and the current record PCE of 12.6% in 2013 [6]. In 2018, researchers from DGIST reached the same performance, 12.6%, but for a larger device area [7]. The device structure used for kesterite solar cells was originally copied from that of Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 , (CIGSe) TFSCs, and is formed by sequential deposition, upon a soda lime glass substrate, of a Mo back contact, the absorber, a CdS buffer layer, and a ZnO/ZnO:Al bi-layer window (i.e. transparent top contact). This structure, schematically shown for CZTSSe in figure 1, is not necessarily ideal for kesterite solar cells, and extensive work has been invested into studies of alternative backand front contacts and related deposition processes. In this paper, the state-of-the-art and current open questions related to the back and front c...

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confidence: 99%

Back and front contacts in kesterite solar cells: state-of-the-art and open questions

et al. 2019

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“…For the simulation of J sc they took the data of an unusual n-type CZTSe cell, whereas for V oc they took the data of Peng et al [5]. According to their modeling, the explanation for the degradation would be due to ion diffusion (defects) which would change the depletion layer; a different explanation, hence, to that of Peng et al, but in line with the results obtained by Neubauer et al for the unstable crystalsol powders reported below [10][11][12].…”

Section: Review Of Stability Of Thin-film Kesterite Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…The stability of powders and modules has been investigated in detail [10,11,18,19]. A critical parameter that was found to be important for the long-time stability of the grains used for this technology (up to 3000 h at 85 • C) is the exact ratio of anions (S 2− and/or Se 2− ) to cations (Cu + , Zn 2+ , Sn 4+ ) and their relative content and real oxidation state in the precursor material.…”

Section: Stability Of Monograin Kesterite Powders Solar Cells and Momentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although crystalsol's stoichiometric CZTS monograins are very stable even in air, powders can also be produced with much less stability. Such powders have been investigated in detail [10][11][12] using several techniques such as performance parameters and serial resistance variations, EQE, PL, LBIC and EBIC. Crystalsol's aging or degradation investigations on unstable CZTS and CZTSSe powder-based solar cells show two main degradation processes.…”

Section: Stability Of Monograin Kesterite Powders Solar Cells and Momentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stability, reliability, upscaling and possible technological applications of kesterite solar cells

et al. 2020

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We review the stability and reliability results of kesterite (Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 , CZTSSe)-based solar cells and we complete the reviewed data with additional as yet unpublished data on these matters. We also review published and new data on upscaling and the possible technological applications for this material. Kesterite material is composed of mainly earth-abundant elements and is therefore very attractive for large-scale applications. Stability data are so far quite scarce and the main results are the accelerated aging tests carried out for CZTSSe monograin technology, as well as yet unpublished data on long indoor and outdoor irradiance tests carried out on thin-film CZTSSe technology deposited by a wet processing method. On upscaling and technological applications we point out the works on three main large-scale photovoltaic technologies (monograin, in-line vacuum thin film, and wet-deposited thin film), as well as some work on water-splitting applications. Stability and reliability of kesterite solar cellsDespite many years of research on kesterite solar cells, until today only a few publications have reported stability data on this type of cells because most papers so far have concentrated on improving the conversion efficiency of the devices. Several stability tests can be carried out on photovoltaic cells and modules. First are

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“…For the purpose of performance assessment, simulation, design, and quality control, the precise estimation of the solar cells and modules parameters values are significant (Maouhoub, 2018a). Besides, these parameters can be used effectively to predict the energy yield (Müller et al, 2016), to develop algorithm for maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) (Tajuddin et al, 2015;Verma et al, 2016), to develop plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) (Hu et al, 2016), to address the degradation and aging issues in PV devices, (Domanski et al, 2018;Neubauer et al, 2019), and to understand the outdoor operation of PV cells and panels at various environmental conditions (Gaglia et al, 2017). Generally, the manufacturers of PV devices provide a datasheet that includes open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current (Isc), maximum rated power (Pm), voltage and current temperature coefficients at standard test condition (STC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brent’s algorithm based new computational approach for accurate determination of single-diode model parameters to simulate solar cells and modules

et al. 2019

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Simulated current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules are significant for the performance assessment, design and quality control, which are decided by the accurate determination of the intrinsic parameters of the devices. Commonly, a singlediode model is utilized to extract these parameters such as the ideality factor (n), series resistance (Rs), shunt resistance (Rsh), saturation current (Io) and photo-generated current (Iλ). Driven by this idea, a new mathematical manipulation was performed on the single-diode equation that yielded a non-linear formula of Rs. Later, Brent's algorithm was used to precisely estimate Rs at every fine-tuned point of n, thereby all other parameters were determined. The set of parameters that provided the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) between the experimental and simulated I-V data were chosen to be optimum. The proposed Brent's algorithm (BA) was shown outperform several recently reported computational and 2 heuristic algorithms that were exploited to mine the single-diode model parameters for solar cells and modules with varied device temperatures and solar irradiation conditions.

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Ageing of kesterite solar cells 1: Degradation processes and their influence on solar cell parameters

Cited by 17 publications

References 21 publications

Back and front contacts in kesterite solar cells: state-of-the-art and open questions

Back and front contacts in kesterite solar cells: state-of-the-art and open questions

Stability, reliability, upscaling and possible technological applications of kesterite solar cells

Brent’s algorithm based new computational approach for accurate determination of single-diode model parameters to simulate solar cells and modules

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