Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} absorber thinning and the homo-interface model: Influence of Mo back contact and 3-stage process on device characteristics
- Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, Koszykowa 75, PL 00-662 Warsaw (Poland)
- Instituto de Energía Solar–ETSIT, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s.n., 28040 Madrid (Spain)
Thinning the absorber layer is one of the possibilities envisaged to further decrease the production costs of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGSe) thin films solar cell technology. In the present study, the electronic transport in submicron CIGSe-based devices has been investigated and compared to that of standard devices. It is observed that when the absorber is around 0.5 μm-thick, tunnelling enhanced interface recombination dominates, which harms cells energy conversion efficiency. It is also shown that by varying either the properties of the Mo back contact or the characteristics of 3-stage growth processing, one can shift the dominating recombination mechanism from interface to space charge region and thereby improve the cells efficiency. Discussions on these experimental facts led to the conclusions that 3-stage process implies the formation of a CIGSe/CIGSe homo-interface, whose location as well as properties rule the device operation; its influence is enhanced in submicron CIGSe based solar cells.
- OSTI ID:
- 22314313
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 116, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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