Impact of Wide-Ranging Nanoscale Chemistry on Band Structure at Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Grain Boundaries

Stokes, Adam; Al-Jassim, Mowafak; Diercks, David; Clarke, Amy; Gorman, Brian

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14215-0

Title: Impact of Wide-Ranging Nanoscale Chemistry on Band Structure at Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ Grain Boundaries

Journal Article · Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14215-0· OSTI ID:1407464

Stokes, Adam ^[1]; Al-Jassim, Mowafak ^[2]; Diercks, David ^[3]; Clarke, Amy ^[3]; Gorman, Brian ^[3]

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

The relative chemistry from grain interiors to grain boundaries help explain why grain boundaries may be beneficial, detrimental or benign towards device performance. 3D Nanoscale chemical analysis extracted from atom probe tomography (APT) (10’s of parts-per-million chemical sensitivity and sub-nanometer spatial resolution) of twenty grain boundaries in a high-efficiency Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ solar cell shows the matrix and alkali concentrations are wide-ranging. The concentration profiles are then related to band structure which provide a unique insight into grain boundary electrical performance. Fluctuating Cu, In and Ga concentrations result in a wide distribution of potential barriers at the valence band maximum (VBM) (-10 to -160 meV) and the conduction band minimum (CBM) (-20 to -70 meV). Furthermore, Na and K segregation is not correlated to hampering donors, (In, Ga)_Cu and V_Se, contrary to what has been previously reported. In addition, Na and K are predicted to be n-type dopants at grain boundaries. An overall band structure at grain boundaries is presented.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; 1040456

OSTI ID:: 1407464

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-70450

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 19 works

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