Symmetry dependent optoelectronic properties of grain boundaries in polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films

In a correlative study applying electron backscatter diffraction as well as spatially and spectrally resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at low temperatures of about 5 K, the symmetry-dependent optoelectronic properties of grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films have been investigated. We find that grain boundaries with lower symmetries tend to show a distinct spectral red shift of about 10 meV and a weak influence on the emission intensity. These behaviors are not detected at high-symmetry Σ3 grain boundaries, or at least in a strongly reduced way. The investigations in the present work help to clarify the ambivalent properties reported for grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se2.