Reduced defect density at the CZTSSe/CdS interface by atomic layer deposition of Al2O3

Erkan, Mehmet Eray; Chawla, Vardaan; Scarpulla, Michael A.

doi:10.1063/1.4948947

Title: Reduced defect density at the CZTSSe/CdS interface by atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃

Journal Article · Wed May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4948947· OSTI ID:1471099

Erkan, Mehmet Eray ^[1]; Chawla, Vardaan ^[2]; Scarpulla, Michael A. ^[3]

Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
AQT Solar, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (United States)
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

The greatest challenge for improving the power conversion efficiency of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe)/CdS/ZnO thin film solar cells is increasing the open circuit voltage (V_OC). Probable leading causes of the V_OC deficit in state-of-the-art CZTSSe devices have been identified as bulk recombination, band tails, and the intertwined effects of CZTSSe/CdS band offset, interface defects, and interface recombination. Here, in this work, we demonstrate the modification of the CZTSSe absorber/CdS buffer interface following the deposition of 1 nm-thick Al₂O₃ layers by atomic layer deposition (ALD) near room temperature. Capacitance-voltage profiling and quantum efficiency measurements reveal that ALD-Al₂O₃ interface modification reduces the density of acceptor-like states at the heterojunction resulting in reduced interface recombination and wider depletion width. Indications of increased V_OC resulting from the modification of the heterojunction interface as a result of ALD-Al₂O₃ treatment are presented. These results, while not conclusive for application to state-of-the-art high efficiency CZTSSe devices, suggest the need for further studies as it is probable that interface recombination contributes to reduced V_OC even in such devices.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0001630

OSTI ID:: 1471099

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1253658

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 19; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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