Nanoscale insight into the p-n junction of alkali-incorporated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Stokes, Adam; Al-Jassim, Mowafak; Norman, Andrew; Diercks, David; Gorman, Brian

doi:10.1002/pip.2883

Title: Nanoscale insight into the p-n junction of alkali-incorporated Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells

Journal Article · Wed Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Progress in Photovoltaics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2883· OSTI ID:1375623

^[1]; Al-Jassim, Mowafak ^[2];

^[2]; Diercks, David ^[3]; Gorman, Brian ^[3]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

The effects of alkali diffusion and post-deposition treatment in three-stage processed Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells are examined by using atom probe tomography and electrical property measurements. Cells, for which the substrate was treated at 650 °C to induce alkali diffusion from the substrate prior to absorber deposition, exhibited high open-circuit voltage (758 mV) and efficiency (18.2%) and also exhibited a 50 to 100-nm-thick ordered vacancy compound layer at the metallurgical junction. Surprisingly, these high-temperature samples exhibited higher concentrations of K at the junction (1.8 at.%) than post-deposition treatment samples (0.4 at.%). A model that uses Ga/(Ga + In) and Cu/(Ga + In) profiles to predict bandgaps (+/-17.9 meV) of 22 Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells reported in literature was discussed and ultimately used to predict band properties at the nanoscale by using atom probe tomography data. The high-temperature samples exhibited a greater drop in the valence band maximum (200 meV) due to a lower Cu/(Ga + In) ratio than the post-deposition treatment samples. There was an anticorrelation of K concentrations and Cu/(Ga + In) ratios for all samples, regardless of processing conditions. In conclusion, changes in elemental profiles at the active junctions correlate well with the electrical behaviour of these devices.

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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)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1375623

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1374459

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-68439

Journal Information:: Progress in Photovoltaics, Vol. 25, Issue 9; ISSN 1062-7995

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 29 works

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Effect of KF absorber treatment on the functionality of different transparent conductive oxide layers in CIGSe solar cells Keller, Jan; Chalvet, Francis; Joel, Jonathan Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2925	journal	August 2017
Deep surface Cu depletion induced by K in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se ₂ solar cell absorbers Donzel-Gargand, Olivier; Thersleff, Thomas; Keller, Jan Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3010	journal	March 2018
Direct Nanoscale Characterization of Deep Levels in AgCuInGaSe ₂ Using Electron Energy‐Loss Spectroscopy in the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope Deitz, Julia I.; Paul, Pran K.; Farshchi, Rouin Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 9, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201901612	journal	August 2019
Revealing the beneficial role of K in grain interiors, grain boundaries, and at the buffer interface for highly efficient CuInSe ₂ solar cells Muzzillo, Christopher P.; Poplawsky, Jonathan D.; Tong, Ho Ming Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3022	journal	June 2018
Bandgap profiling in CIGS solar cells via valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy Deitz, Julia I.; Karki, Shankar; Marsillac, Sylvain X. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 123, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5011658	journal	March 2018

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Title: Nanoscale insight into the p-n junction of alkali-incorporated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

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Title: Nanoscale insight into the p-n junction of alkali-incorporated Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells