Strategic review of interface carrier recombination in earth abundant Cu–Zn–Sn–S–Se solar cells: current challenges and future prospects

Kaur, Kulwinder; Kumar, Naveen; Kumar, Mukesh

doi:10.1039/c6ta10543b

Cited by 180 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…However, the benefits of using ZMO buffer in CdTe solar cells have not been widely reproduced by other researchers. One issue is that the introduction of CBO spike can also cause energy barrier at the front ZMO/CdTe junction, which can hinder the transfer of electrons from CdTe absorber into fluorine doped SnO 2 (FTO) electrode, leading to S‐kink behavior in the current density‐voltage (J‐V) curves which is mainly responsible for poor fill factors (FFs) . Additionally, the use of ZMO buffer may influence the properties of defects at the front interface and in CdTe bulk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of buffer material and fabrication atmosphere on the electrical properties of CdTe solar cells

Awni

Song

et al. 2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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The electrical properties such as interface energy barriers, defect energy levels, and densities dictate the performance of thin film solar cells. Here, we show that these properties can be quantified in cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin‐film solar cells using admittance spectroscopy‐based techniques. Our results reveal that the electrical properties in CdTe thin‐film solar cells depend on both buffer material and the fabrication atmosphere. We find that only a negligible front contact barrier exists at the CdS/CdTe front junction regardless of the fabrication atmospheres, while an obvious front barriers are observed at the ZnMgO (ZMO)/CdTe junctions. Both CdS/CdTe and ZMO/CdTe solar cells exhibit back contact barrier. The energy level of defects is shallower in CdS/CdTe cells than in ZMO/CdTe cells. The fabrication atmosphere influences the electrical properties, i.e., an oxygen‐free atmosphere reduces the front and back barrier heights and lowers the energy level of defects. The results provide critical insights for understanding and optimizing the performance of CdTe thin‐film solar cells.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of buffer material and fabrication atmosphere on the electrical properties of CdTe solar cells

Awni

Song

et al. 2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…As in case of TiN, 8.9% of power conversion efficiency is obtained . More about the various interface in the CZTS based solar devices is well discussed elsewhere in Ref . On the other hand spike like band alignment between CZTSe and CdS has been reported by Li et al .…”

Section: Applications Of Quaternary Chalcogenidesmentioning

confidence: 73%

Multifunctional Copper‐Based Quaternary Chalcogenide Semiconductors Toward State‐of‐the‐Art Energy Applications

Kush

Deka

2018

ChemNanoMat

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Cu-based quaternary chalcogenide semiconductors have been attractive materials in many aspects since the last decade. Most of the scientific literature about quaternary chalcogenides is dedicated to photovoltaic (PV) research with no astonishment as the material initially emerged as a costeffective replacement of expensive Si for PV applications. These materials possess all the important properties such as, abundant and non-toxic constituent elements, efficient charge transport, optimum band gap, and high absorption coefficient for being an efficient PV material in either thin film or nanoparticle form. However, in the recent few years, a new range of quaternary materials Cu 2 M I M II X 4 (where, M I =Zn, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cd and Hg; M II =Si, Sn and Ge and X=S and/or Se) have evolved and found applications in thermoelectrics, photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, sensors and bat-teries etc. The combination of properties exhibited by these quaternary chalcogenides such as optical and electric, optical and magnetic, electric and thermal makes them potential materials, which could be utilized in multiple applications. Although the PV properties of these quaternary chalcogenides has been discussed earlier in many reports, the other versatile applications of the material have not been reviewed yet. The present article sheds light on the multifunctional aspects of various new Cu-based quaternary chalcogenides, their synthesis, effect of doping on their properties, and then elaborating the discussion on their chemical and physical properties that are helpful in different applications along with photovoltaics. Here, we discuss synthetic methods bestowing enhanced features and also summarize their achieved efficiency in recent years. Scheme 1. Schematic representation for the derivation of quaternary chalcogenides. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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“…In the last decade, copper-based quaternary semiconductor material Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) has been widely considered as a most promising absorber layer candidate for low-cost thin film solar cells, owing to its high absorption coefficient (>10 4 cm −1 ) and optimal band gap (1.0-1.5 eV) that are ideal properties for the application under solar irradiation [1][2][3]. Furthermore, all the constituent elements of CZTS are naturally abundant and cheap, whereas the rare and expensive elements of In and Ga are employed in the well-known material of CuIn x Ga 1−x (S,Se) 2 (CIGS) [4][5][6]. The above are beneficial to realize the low-cost and high-volume production of solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Films Based on Facile Nanocrystals-Printing Approach with Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) Process

et al. 2019

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In the current study, Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) thin film was successfully fabricated by the facile nanocrystals (NCs)-printing approach combined with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process. Firstly, the CZTS NCs were synthesized by a thermal solution method and the possible formation mechanism was analyzed briefly. Then the influences of RTA toleration temperature and duration time on the various properties of as-printed thin films were examined via XRD, Raman, FE-SEM, UV-vis-IR spectroscopy, EDS and XPS treatments in detail. As observed, the RTA factors of temperature and time had significant impacts on the structure and morphology of as-prepared thin films, while there were no obvious effects on the band gap energy in studied conditions. The results showed that the obtained thin film at optimal RTA conditions of (600 • C, 20 min) featured a kesterite structure in pure phase and an irregular morphology consisting of large grains. Moreover, the satisfactory composition of a Cu-poor, Zn-rich state and an ideal band gap energy of 1.4 eV suggests that as-fabricated CZTS thin film is a suitable light-absorbing layer candidate for the application in thin film solar cells.

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Strategic review of interface carrier recombination in earth abundant Cu–Zn–Sn–S–Se solar cells: current challenges and future prospects

Abstract: The article presents a strategic review of secondary phases, defects and defect-complexes in kesterite CZTSSe solar cells responsible for performance gap compared to CIGS solar cells.

Cited by 180 publications

References 101 publications

Influences of buffer material and fabrication atmosphere on the electrical properties of CdTe solar cells

Influences of buffer material and fabrication atmosphere on the electrical properties of CdTe solar cells

Multifunctional Copper‐Based Quaternary Chalcogenide Semiconductors Toward State‐of‐the‐Art Energy Applications

Fabrication of Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Films Based on Facile Nanocrystals-Printing Approach with Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) Process

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