Physical and chemical degradation behavior of sputtered aluminum doped zinc oxide layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Theelen, Mirjam; Boumans, T.; Stegeman, Felix; Colberts, Fallon J. M.; Illiberi, A.; Berkum, J. van; Barreau, Nicolas; Vroon, Zeger; Zeman, Miro

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2013.10.149

Cited by 42 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The impact of the various combinations of water and atmospheric gases was comparable to the observations obtained for ZnO:Al layers on borosilicate glass [5]. In this reference, it was shown that ZnO:Al layers rapidly degraded in the presence of a mixture of H 2 O and CO 2 .…”

Section: Grain Boundary Dissolutionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…The vessels are non-transparent, so the samples are kept in dark. The setup is further similar to the one earlier described in in reference [5], which was used to test ZnO:Al layers. Gas purges were fed into the containers, namely air, nitrogen (Air Liquide, 99.99995% purity), oxygen (Air Liquide, 99.995% purity) and a carbon dioxide (Air Liquide, 99.7% purity)/nitrogen mix.…”

Section: Sample Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carbon dioxide was diluted with nitrogen to avoid acidification of the water, which leads to dissolution of the top ZnO:Al layer (see reference [5]). To provide a nitrogen-diluted carbon dioxide purge, nitrogen and carbon dioxide were provided through mass flow controllers (from Bronkhorst Nederland B.V.).…”

Section: Sample Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since it is known that increased resistance of ZnO:Al is often a reason for CIGS solar cell degradation, in earlier work ZnO:Al layers [3] were already tested under several atmospheric gases, showing a large performance deterioration due to combined water and CO 2 exposure, while it was stable under many other conditions. Based on ZnO:Al degradation experiments, it can be expected that CO 2 is important [3][4][5], but this has not been studied yet. Therefore, the impact on complete CIGS solar cells is yet unknown, but it can be expected that the combined impact of water and CO 2 will be detrimental for the ZnO:Al layer of the solar cells, while other layers might be affected by different combinations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

Theelen

Foster

Steijvers

et al. 2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Self Cite

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Section: Grain Boundary Dissolutionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Sample Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sample Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

Theelen

Foster

Steijvers

et al. 2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Self Cite

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“…The films were sputtered either at substrate temperature of 300 °C on Corning Eagle XG or at 200 °C on Eurowhite float glass. Float glass might result in further degradation processes by diffusion of species from the glass and the two temperature values are typical for deposition of ZnO:Al on glass or onto devices for PV application . More details about the coating process and film properties can be found elsewhere .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of atmosphere and material properties on damp heat stability of ZnO:Al

Hüpkes

2016

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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We report on electrical properties and corrosion of ZnO:Al thin films on glass after damp heat treatments under various atmospheric conditions. The ZnO:Al films were prepared by in-line magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates. Damp heat treatments took place at 90 8C in various humid atmospheres including air, nitrogen, and mixtures of argon and carbon dioxide. Dry heat did not affect the properties of ZnO:Al films. Humidity, however, led to a significant increase in resistivity depending on preparation conditions of the ZnO:Al and the composition of the atmosphere. Additionally, humid CO 2 levels exceeding 5% significantly etched the ZnO:Al films with resistance increase by orders of magnitude. The only exception from degradation exhibited the damp heat stable ZnO:Al that had experienced the so-called highmobility annealing under the protective layer before degradation. This unique behavior was related to bulk properties of the ZnO:Al rather than a barrier effect at the film surface.

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Unraveling the cause of degradation in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ photovoltaics under potential induced degradation

et al. 2021

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Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) based technology is actively competing in the global photovoltaic market with high conversion efficiency. Commercial CIGS modules are anticipated to perform on rated output in the field condition for 20 years. Potential induced degradation (PID) is considered as one of the critical concerns among all the current reliability assessment issues. PID accelerated tests have been performed on pre-commercial CIGS modules to investigate reduction in electrical performance. We report the severe reduction in electrical performance after PID is correlated to the microstructural and chemical properties of the constituent materials. Under extreme PID stress, the cell surface reveals various defects including crater formation. The aim of this article is to explore the consequences of PID induced craters on the efficiency of CIGS solar cells by investigating material degradation kinetics. In this perspective, we present the root cause of PID in CIGS thin-film modules in relation to microstructural defects by detailed investigation using J-V analysis, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). This analysis can provide more effective and sustainable research strategies to cultivate more efficient and reliable CIGS technologies in the long run.

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Physical and chemical degradation behavior of sputtered aluminum doped zinc oxide layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Cited by 42 publications

References 16 publications

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

Influence of atmosphere and material properties on damp heat stability of ZnO:Al

Unraveling the cause of degradation in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ photovoltaics under potential induced degradation

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Physical and chemical degradation behavior of sputtered aluminum doped zinc oxide layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Cited by 42 publications

References 16 publications

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

Influence of atmosphere and material properties on damp heat stability of ZnO:Al

Unraveling the cause of degradation in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 photovoltaics under potential induced degradation

Contact Info

Product

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Unraveling the cause of degradation in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ photovoltaics under potential induced degradation