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Electronic Defects and Device Performance in CuGaSe2 Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

J. Jedediah Rembold ,
Todd W. Curtis ,
Jennifer T. Heath ,
David L. Young ,
Steve W. Johnston  and
William N. Shafarman
J. Jedediah Rembold
Affiliation:
jrembol@linfield.edu, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR, 97128, United States
Todd W. Curtis
Affiliation:
tocurtis@linfield.edu, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR, 97128, United States
Jennifer T. Heath
Affiliation:
jheath@linfield.edu, Linfield College, Physics, 900 SE Baker St. Unit A468, McMinnville, OR, 97128, United States, 5038832267, 5038832781
David L. Young
Affiliation:
David_Young@nrel.gov, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 80401, United States
Steve W. Johnston
Affiliation:
steve_johnston@nrel.gov, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 80401, United States
William N. Shafarman
Affiliation:
wns@udel.edu, University of Delaware, Institute of Energy Conversion, Newark, DE, 19716, United States
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Abstract

The electronic and materials properties of two series of wide-bandgap solar cells with Cu-poor CuGaSe2 (CGS) absorbers have been studied, to better understand limitations on the device performance. One series of samples displayed distinct lateral non-uniformities in Cu/Ga ratio, Na content, and thickness, likely due to a limited supply of Se during CGS growth. The second series of samples appeared uniform. The most prominent electronic difference was the presence of a distinct band of near-interface defect states in the more non-uniform set of samples. The device performance did not appear to be limited by defects in the bulk CGS film until the defect density was larger than 2×1016 cm-3. Instead, interface recombination appears to be a significant factor limiting Voc in both sets of samples.

Keywords

photovoltaicdefectssecondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1012: Symposium Y – Thin-Film Compound Semiconductor Photovoltaics-2007 , 2007 , 1012-Y12-27
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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