Growth mechanism of Sb2Se3 thin films for photovoltaic application by vapor transport deposition

Kondrotas, Rokas; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Chong; Tang, Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2019.04.024

Cited by 76 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Seed layer assisted growth has been employed to obtain the desired crystal orientation and bulk defect properties of Sb 2 Se 3 films deposited on metal oxide layers, consequently improving the performance of solar cells in superstrate configuration. [ 10,11,25–27 ] Huntter et al. first introduced a seed layer in the preparation of superstrate Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells by two‐step closed space sublimation (CSS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Rijal

Awni

et al. 2021

Adv Funct Materials

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Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising low‐cost photovoltaic material with a 1D crystal structure. The grain orientation and defect passivation play a critical role in determining the performance of polycrystalline Sb2Se3 thin‐film solar cells. Here, a seed layer is introduced on a molybdenum (Mo) substrate to template the growth of a vertically oriented, columnar Sb2Se3 absorber layer by closed space sublimation. By controlling the grain orientation and compactness of the Sb2Se3 seeds, obtain high‐quality Sb2Se3 absorber layers with passive Sb2Se3/Mo interfaces is obtained, which in turn improve the transport of photoexcited charge carriers through the absorber layer and its interfaces. Post‐deposition annealing of absorber layers in ambient air is further utilized to passivate the defects in Sb2Se3 and enhance the quality of the front heterojunction. As a result of systematic processing optimization, Sb2Se3 planar heterojunction solar cells are fabricated in substrate configuration with a champion power conversion efficiency of 8.5%.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Rijal

Awni

et al. 2021

Adv Funct Materials

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show abstract

“…[ 2,17,25 ] The stress may also originate from the transition of surface energy during the growth process, as evidenced by the dramatic orientation transition from the initial growth on the substrate to the epitaxial growth on large grains. [ 26,27 ] The stresses generated by either process may be released by forming numerous dislocations. Therefore, developing advanced growth processes enabling better stress control may be a promising direction to essentially suppress these dislocations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defect‐Resolved Effective Majority Carrier Mobility in Highly Anisotropic Antimony Chalcogenide Thin‐Film Solar Cells

Huang

et al. 2021

Solar RRL

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Majority carrier mobility is one of the most fundamental and yet important carrier transport parameters determining the optimal device architecture and performance of the emerging antimony chalcogenide solar cells. However, carrier mobility measurements based on the Hall effect have limitations for these highly anisotropy materials due to the discrepancy of transport directions under Hall measurement and device operation. Herein, a defect‐resolved mobility measurement (DRMM) method enabling the evaluation of effective majority carrier mobility from a working device without such limitations is presented. Using this method, comprehensive information about the carrier transport in representative Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3 solar cells is extracted. Though with preferred [hk1]‐crystalline orientation, Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3 still suffer from extremely low carrier mobility and low carrier density, respectively, resulting in large bulk resistance and poor carrier collection efficiency. Further crystalline structure analysis discloses that crystalline defects such as dislocations may significantly constrain carrier transport in these low‐dimensional materials. These results suggest that a p‐i‐n device architecture with fully depleted absorber is a promising optimization approach for further efficiency advances of antimony chalcogenide solar cells.

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“…The VTD method has gained more attention among nonchemical deposition strategies as it offers a more convenient way to separately control the source and substrate temperature. [ 16,34 ] Herein, a VTD‐processed photovoltaic device preparation is shown in Figure . The morphology, thickness, and orientation of the films are conjointly dependent on the deposition temperature.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Open‐Circuit Voltage of Sb₂Se₃ Thin‐Film Solar Cells Via Interfacial Sulfur Diffusion‐Induced Gradient Bandgap Engineering

et al. 2021

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The performance of thermally deposited Sb2Se3 solar cells are severely limited by various bulk and interfacial recombination, instigating a large open‐circuit voltage (VOC) deficit. Ternary Sb2(S,Se)3 is considered as a remedy, however, it is also subjected to a dilemma that improvement in VOC will be escorted by JSC loss due to the shrinkage of light harvest. Thus, a gradient of S/Se across the film is a prerequisite to avoid this detrimental compromise. Herein, the incorporation of S in the Sb2Se3 absorber layer evaporated from a CdS buffer layer during vapor transport deposition (VTD) process, and its further self‐activated diffusion at the interface upon ambient storage is explored. For the gradient indium tin oxide (ITO)/CdS/Sb2(S,Se)3/Sb2Se3/Au solar cell, the large bandgap Sb2(S,Se)3 at the heterojunction side contributes to high VOC, while the narrow bandgap Sb2Se3 at the top side confirms high JSC. Sulfur diffusion at the CdS/Sb2Se3 interface also improves the junction quality with an enlarged Vbi, reduced interfacial defects and recombination loss, thus improving VOC from 393 to 430 mV. Such VOC represents the highest value for that of thermally deposited Sb2Se3 solar cells. The champion device also delivers an interesting efficiency of 7.49%. This research provides substantial guidance in exploring efficient approaches to improve the performance of Sb2Se3 solar cells.

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Growth mechanism of Sb2Se3 thin films for photovoltaic application by vapor transport deposition

Cited by 76 publications

References 30 publications

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Defect‐Resolved Effective Majority Carrier Mobility in Highly Anisotropic Antimony Chalcogenide Thin‐Film Solar Cells

Improved Open‐Circuit Voltage of Sb₂Se₃ Thin‐Film Solar Cells Via Interfacial Sulfur Diffusion‐Induced Gradient Bandgap Engineering

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Growth mechanism of Sb2Se3 thin films for photovoltaic application by vapor transport deposition

Cited by 76 publications

References 30 publications

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Templated Growth and Passivation of Vertically Oriented Antimony Selenide Thin Films for High‐Efficiency Solar Cells in Substrate Configuration

Defect‐Resolved Effective Majority Carrier Mobility in Highly Anisotropic Antimony Chalcogenide Thin‐Film Solar Cells

Improved Open‐Circuit Voltage of Sb2Se3 Thin‐Film Solar Cells Via Interfacial Sulfur Diffusion‐Induced Gradient Bandgap Engineering

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Improved Open‐Circuit Voltage of Sb₂Se₃ Thin‐Film Solar Cells Via Interfacial Sulfur Diffusion‐Induced Gradient Bandgap Engineering