Grain-boundary character distribution and correlations with electrical and optoelectronic properties of CuInSe2 thin films

Abou‐Ras, Daniel; Schäfer, Norbert; Rissom, T.; Kelly, Madeleine N.; Haarstrich, J.; Ronning, Carsten; Rohrer, Gregory S.; Rollett, Anthony D.

doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2016.07.042

Cited by 23 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…When combining EBSD, EBIC, and CL on the same identical areas of a CuInSe 2 /CdS/ZnO stack, it was possible to study the recombination activity at a large number of twins and (random) grain boundaries . It was found that most twin boundaries do not exhibit a substantial reduction of EBIC or CL signals, as compared with those in grain interiors, and that the recombination velocities (and therefore probably also the lifetimes) which can be calculated from the EBIC and CL distributions across random grain boundaries are different for different grain boundaries.…”

Section: Spatial Variations In Lifetimementioning

confidence: 99%

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

et al. 2017

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Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films have been reported to lead to band‐gap or electrostatic potential fluctuations, which may reduce the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding solar cells via enhanced recombination. The issue of where these inhomogeneities occur in the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber has so far not been discussed in detail in literature. The present work gives an overview of spatial variations in composition, net doping, and lifetime on various scales, also with respect to their occurrences at interfaces and extended structural defects. Impacts of these spatial variations on the device performance of the corresponding solar cells are discussed. It can be shown that compositional inhomogeneities possibly affecting the device performance are only present at (partial) dislocations and at the Cu(In,Ga)Se2/buffer interface, and that inhomogeneous distributions of excess charges at line/planar defects as well as of net doping concentrations affect considerably the potential landscape within Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films.

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Section: Spatial Variations In Lifetimementioning

confidence: 99%

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

et al. 2017

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“…Enhanced microscopic information can be gathered whenever several techniques are acquired on the same specimen area. Examples for such work include combination of EBSD, EBIC, and CL investigations in order to determine the recombination velocities at grain boundaries and their correlation with the characters of grain-boundary planes (Abou-Ras et al, 2016b), and the combination of EBSD and scanning probe microscopy in order to study barriers for charge carriers at grain boundaries (Baier et al, 2011). Recombination velocities and barrier heights for charge carriers at grain boundaries together exhibit important input parameters for two-dimensional device simulations, which indicate that enhanced recombination at CIGSe grain boundaries is one possible origin of the limited open-circuit voltage in the corresponding solar cells (Abou-Ras et al, 2016c).…”

Section: Microscopic Materials and Device Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced characterization and in-situ growth monitoring of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells

et al. 2018

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The continuous improvement of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGSe) solar cells relies considerably on advanced characterization of individual layers in the solar-cell stacks as well as of completed CIGSe devices. The present contribution provides an overview of corresponding efforts performed by various research groups at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH. In-situ growth monitoring of CIGSe absorber layers by means of energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and light scattering is described, as well as structural analyses by means of X-ray and neutron diffraction. In addition, the characterization of surfaces and interfaces by soft X-ray and electron spectroscopy, the microscopic analysis by means of correlative electron microscopy, and optoelectronic characterization by optical spectroscopy are highlighted. The present contribution shows which substantial efforts in a research network are necessary in order to obtain deeper insight into materials properties and potentially limiting factors for the device performance, as well as to be able to control these factors during the solar-cell production.

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“…This corresponding twin boundaries Of the type {111}||{111} are known as coherent symmetric twist Σ3 boundaries. 13,20,27,35) The misorientation peak for Σ9 boundary lies at 38.9° for (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) plane along the [110] orientation. This corresponds to symmetric tilt boundaries.…”

Section: Grain Boundary Plane Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well known that GBE is an effective approach to suitably tailor properties such as ductility, stress corrosion and intergranular cracking, creep and other functional properties of polycrystalline materials. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In this approach, the above mentioned properties can be improved by changing the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD), specially by increasing the fraction of Coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries in the overall grain boundary character distribution. Watanabe and co-workers [14][15][16] introduced the concept of GBE in polycrystalline materials by thermo-mechanical processing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain Boundary Engineering of Medium Mn TWIP Steels: A Novel Method to Enhance the Mechanical Properties

2018

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The grain boundary engineering (GBE) approach was employed on a medium manganese (Mn) based twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steel to improve its mechanical properties. Two specially designed thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) routes, one involving unidirectional rolling (UDR) and the other one employing multi-step cross rolling (MSCR), with intermediate short term annealing treatment have been used. The annealing temperatures are chosen considering recrystallization and grain growth. Of the two routes, the one involving MSCR, has shown a higher fraction of special or coincident lattice site (CSL) grain boundaries. A detailed grain boundary microstructural analysis has been carried out by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) for differently processed samples. A significant improvement in ductility is observed in MSCR processed samples due to increase of CSL boundary fraction.

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Grain-boundary character distribution and correlations with electrical and optoelectronic properties of CuInSe2 thin films

Cited by 23 publications

References 29 publications

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

Advanced characterization and in-situ growth monitoring of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells

Grain Boundary Engineering of Medium Mn TWIP Steels: A Novel Method to Enhance the Mechanical Properties

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Grain-boundary character distribution and correlations with electrical and optoelectronic properties of CuInSe2 thin films

Cited by 23 publications

References 29 publications

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

Advanced characterization and in-situ growth monitoring of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells

Grain Boundary Engineering of Medium Mn TWIP Steels: A Novel Method to Enhance the Mechanical Properties

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Product

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Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations

Inhomogeneities in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films for Solar Cells: Band‐Gap Versus Potential Fluctuations