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Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin films for solar cells – a review
Author(s) -
AbouRas Daniel,
Schmidt Sebastian S.,
Schäfer Norbert,
Kavalakkatt Jaison,
Rissom Thorsten,
Unold Thomas,
Mainz Roland,
Weber Alfons,
Kirchartz Thomas,
Simsek Sanli Ekin,
Aken Peter A.,
Ramasse Quentin M.,
Kleebe HansJoachim,
Azulay Doron,
Balberg Isaac,
Millo Oded,
CojocaruMirédin Oana,
BarraganYani Daniel,
Albe Karsten,
Haarstrich Jakob,
Ronning Carsten
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201510440
Subject(s) - planar , materials science , thin film , optoelectronics , grain boundary , photovoltaic system , line (geometry) , luminescence , crystallographic defect , condensed matter physics , nanotechnology , physics , electrical engineering , computer science , geometry , composite material , microstructure , computer graphics (images) , mathematics , engineering
The present review gives an overview of the various reports on properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2 thin films for high‐efficiency solar cells. We report results from various analysis techniques applied to characterize these defects at different length scales, which allow for drawing a consistent picture on structural and electronic defect properties. A key finding is atomic reconstruction detected at line and planar defects, which may be one mechanism to reduce excess charge densities and to relax deep‐defect states from midgap to shallow energy levels. On the other hand, nonradiative Shockley–Read–Hall recombination is still enhanced with respect to defect‐free grain interiors, which is correlated with substantial reduction of luminescence intensities. Comparison of the microscopic electrical properties of planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2 thin films with two‐dimensional device simulations suggest that these defects are one origin of the reduced open‐circuit voltage of the photovoltaic devices. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)