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Title: Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics

Abstract

The growth in efficiency of earth-abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells has slowed, due in part to the intrinsic limitations imposed by the band tailing attributed primarily to I-II antisite exchange. In this study, density functional theory simulations show that when Ag is substituted for Cu to form kesterite Ag2ZnSnSe4 (AZTSe), the I-II isolated antisite formation energy becomes 3.7 times greater than in CZTSSe, resulting in at least an order of magnitude reduction in I-II antisite density. Experimental evidence of an optoelectronically improved material is also provided. Comparison of the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) structure of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe), CZTSSe, and AZTSe shows that AZTSe has a shallow defect structure with emission significantly closer to the band edge than CZTSe. Existence of suppressed band tailing is found in the proximity of the room-temperature PL peak of AZTSe to its measured band gap. In conclusion, the results are consistent with AZTSe being a promising alternative to CZTSSe and CIGSe for thin film photovoltaics.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA (United States)
  2. IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Hts., NY (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1470318
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1241443
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0006334
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Chemical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 144; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9606
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Citation Formats

Chagarov, Evgueni, Sardashti, Kasra, Kummel, Andrew C., Lee, Yun Seog, Haight, Richard, and Gershon, Talia S. Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4943270.
Chagarov, Evgueni, Sardashti, Kasra, Kummel, Andrew C., Lee, Yun Seog, Haight, Richard, & Gershon, Talia S. Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943270
Chagarov, Evgueni, Sardashti, Kasra, Kummel, Andrew C., Lee, Yun Seog, Haight, Richard, and Gershon, Talia S. Mon . "Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943270. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1470318.
@article{osti_1470318,
title = {Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4: A highly promising absorber for thin film photovoltaics},
author = {Chagarov, Evgueni and Sardashti, Kasra and Kummel, Andrew C. and Lee, Yun Seog and Haight, Richard and Gershon, Talia S.},
abstractNote = {The growth in efficiency of earth-abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells has slowed, due in part to the intrinsic limitations imposed by the band tailing attributed primarily to I-II antisite exchange. In this study, density functional theory simulations show that when Ag is substituted for Cu to form kesterite Ag2ZnSnSe4 (AZTSe), the I-II isolated antisite formation energy becomes 3.7 times greater than in CZTSSe, resulting in at least an order of magnitude reduction in I-II antisite density. Experimental evidence of an optoelectronically improved material is also provided. Comparison of the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) structure of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe), CZTSSe, and AZTSe shows that AZTSe has a shallow defect structure with emission significantly closer to the band edge than CZTSe. Existence of suppressed band tailing is found in the proximity of the room-temperature PL peak of AZTSe to its measured band gap. In conclusion, the results are consistent with AZTSe being a promising alternative to CZTSSe and CIGSe for thin film photovoltaics.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4943270},
journal = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
number = 10,
volume = 144,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Mon Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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