Beneficial effect of post-deposition treatment in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells through reduced potential fluctuations

Jensen, Soren A.; Glynn, Stephen; Kanevce, Ana; Dippo, Pat; Li, Jian V.; Levi, Dean H.; Kuciauskas, Darius

doi:10.1063/1.4960344

Title: Beneficial effect of post-deposition treatment in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells through reduced potential fluctuations

Journal Article · Fri Aug 12 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960344· OSTI ID:1310173

Jensen, Soren A. ^[1]; Glynn, Stephen ^[1]; Kanevce, Ana ^[1]; Dippo, Pat ^[1]; Li, Jian V. ^[2];

^[1];

^[1]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Texas State Univ., San Marcos, TX (United States)

World-record power conversion efficiencies for Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells have been achieved via a post-deposition treatment with alkaline metals, which increases the open-circuit voltage and fill factor. We explore the role of the potassium fluoride (KF) post-deposition treatment in CIGS by employing energy- and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and electrical characterization combined with numerical modeling. The bulk carrier lifetime is found to increase with post-deposition treatment from 255 ns to 388 ns, which is the longest charge carrier lifetime reported for CIGS, and within ~40% of the radiative limit. We find evidence that the post-deposition treatment causes a decrease in the electronic potential fluctuations. These potential fluctuations have previously been shown to reduce the open-circuit voltage and the device efficiency in CIGS. Additionally, numerical simulations based on the measured carrier lifetimes and mobilities show a diffusion length of ~10 um, which is ~4 times larger than the film thickness. Furthermore, carrier collection in the bulk is not a limiting factor for device efficiency. By considering differences in doping, bandgap, and potential fluctuations, we present a possible explanation for the voltage difference between KF-treated and untreated samples.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1310173

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1294677

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5J00-65144; JAPIAU

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 120, Issue 6; ISSN 0021-8979

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

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 68 works

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Impact of heat‐light soaking and heat‐bias soaking on NaF‐treated CIGS thin film solar cells Matsuura, Junpei; Khatri, Ishwor; Lin, Tzu‐Ying Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3135	journal	April 2019
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The Effect of Electron Irradiation on Cesium Fluoride‐Free and Cesium Fluoride‐Treated Cu(In _{1− x} ,Ga _x )Se ₂ Solar Cells Khatri, Ishwor; Lin, Tzu-Ying; Nakada, Tokio physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.201900415	journal	May 2019
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Title: Beneficial effect of post-deposition treatment in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells through reduced potential fluctuations

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Title: Beneficial effect of post-deposition treatment in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells through reduced potential fluctuations