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

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 em...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of applied physics 2016-08, Vol.120 (6)
Hauptverfasser: Jensen, S. A., Glynn, S., Kanevce, A., Dippo, P., Li, J. V., Levi, D. H., Kuciauskas, D.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung: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 μm, which is ∼4 times larger than the film thickness. Thus, 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.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4960344