Wild Band Edges: The Role of Bandgap Grading and Band-Edge Fluctuations in High-Efficiency Chalcogenide Devices

Conference · Mon Nov 21 04:00:00 EST 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2016.7749600· OSTI ID:1343870

Repins, Ingrid; Mansfield, Lorelle; Kanevce, Ana; Jensen, Soren A.; Kuciauskas, Darius; Glynn, Stephen; Barnes, Teresa; Metzger, Wyatt; Burst, James; Jiang, Chun-Sheng; Dippo, Patricia; Harvey, Steve; Teeter, Glenn; Perkins, Craig; Egaas, Brian; Zakutayev, Andriy; Alsmeier, J. -H.; Lussky, T.; Korte, L.; Wilks, R. G. ; Bar, M.; Yan, Y.; Lany, Stephan; Zawadzki, Pawel; Park, Ji-Sang; Wei, Suhuai

Band-edge effects - including grading, electrostatic fluctuations, bandgap fluctuations, and band tails - affect chalcogenide device efficiency. These effects now require more careful consideration as efficiencies increase beyond 20%. Several aspects of the relationships between band-edge phenomena and device performance for NREL absorbers are examined. For Cu(In, Ga)Se2 devices, recent increases in diffusion length imply changes to the optimum bandgap profile. The origin, impact, and modification of electrostatic and bandgap fluctuations are also discussed. The application of the same principles to devices based on CdTe, kesterites, and emerging absorbers (Cu2SnS3, CuSbS2), considering differences in materials properties, is examined.

• Research Organization: NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States))
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1343870
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-5J00-67966
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CIGS
CdTe
band gap
chalcogen
kesterite
potential fluctuation