Microstructure-Property Relationships in Epitaxial Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Solar-Cell Absorbers
Epitaxially grown Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layers were analyzed by various techniques in scanning electron microscopy in order to reveal microstructure-property relationships in these thin films. Owing to their epitaxial nature, these CIGS absorber layers do not contain any grain boundaries, but only anti-phase domains (APDs) and dislocations. By combining electron channeling-contrast imaging, electron backscatter diffraction, and cathodoluminescence (CL), in some cases on identical specimen positions of polished cross-sections of CIGS/Mo/glass stacks, it was possible to correlate the presence and orientations of APDs and dislocations with the lateral distributions of the CL intensity and emission-peak energy. We studied CIGS layers with three different [Ga]/([Ga]+[In]) ratios as well as with and without NaF/KF treatments. Considerable differences between the CIGS layer properties in the microstructure-property relationships were found, depending on the growth parameters. Dislocations in the epitaxial CIGS layers do not tend to exhibit strong CL intensity decreases, which contrasts with the situation in numerous other semiconductor materials.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 2305649
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5K00-88825; MainId:89604; UUID:64f8d0d2-2883-4220-a3e1-de9730d6de70; MainAdminId:71817
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Optoelectronic Inactivity of Dislocations in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin Films
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journal | May 2021 |
Single-crystal Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 solar cells grown on GaAs substrates
|
journal | July 2018 |
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