Photoluminescence-Based Method for Imaging Buffer Layer Thickness in CIGS Solar Cells

in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics (2020)

Absorption Coefficient of a Semiconductor Thin Film from Photoluminescence

in Physical Review Applied (2018), 9

Improved environmental stability of highly conductive nominally undoped ZnO layers suitable for n-type windows in thin film solar cells

in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2017), 161

Post-deposition treatment of Cu2ZnSnSe4 with alkalis

in Thin Solid Films (2016), 633

Low temperature post-deposition treatment of Cu2ZnSnSe4 with NaF and KF significantly improved the solar cell efficiency (from 6.4% to 7.8% and 7.7% on average, respectively) due to enhanced fill factor ... [more ▼]

Low temperature post-deposition treatment of Cu2ZnSnSe4 with NaF and KF significantly improved the solar cell efficiency (from 6.4% to 7.8% and 7.7% on average, respectively) due to enhanced fill factor (from 0.58 to 0.61 and 0.62), open-circuit voltage (Voc) (from 314 mV to 337 mV and 325 mV) and short-circuit current density (from 35.3 mA⋅cm −2 to 38.3 mA⋅cm −2 and 38.6 mA⋅cm −2). Voc improvement was higher for solar cells with NaF treatment due to an increase in radiative efficiency at room temperature and shallower defect activation energy as determined by photoluminescence (PL) and temperature dependent admittance spectroscopy, respectively. In the case of KF treatment, red-shift of the PL, higher band tail density of state and donor activation energy deeper in the band gap were limiting further improvement of the Voc compared to NaF treatment. [less ▲]

Environmental stability of highly conductive nominally undoped ZnO layers

in IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. Conference Record (2016), 978-1-5090-2724

Ordering kesterite improves solar cells:A low temperature post-deposition annealing study

in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2016), 151

Highly conductive ZnO films with high near infrared transparency

in Progress in Photovoltaics (2015)

We present an approach for deposition of highly conductive nominally undoped ZnO films that are suitable for the n-type window of low band gap solar cells. We demonstrate that low-voltage radio frequency ... [more ▼]

We present an approach for deposition of highly conductive nominally undoped ZnO films that are suitable for the n-type window of low band gap solar cells. We demonstrate that low-voltage radio frequency (RF) biasing of growing ZnO films during their deposition by non-reactive sputtering makes them as conductive as when doped by aluminium (ρ≤1·10−3Ω cm). The films prepared with additional RF biasing possess lower free-carrier concentration and higher free-carrier mobility than Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films of the same resistivity, which results in a substantially higher transparency in the near infrared region (NIR). Furthermore, these films exhibit good ambient stability and lower high-temperature stability than the AZO films of the same thickness. We also present the characteristics of Cu(InGa)Se2, CuInSe2 and Cu2ZnSnSe4-based solar cells prepared with the transparent window bilayer formed of the isolating and conductive ZnO films and compare them to their counterparts with a standard ZnO/AZO bilayer. We show that the solar cells with nominally undoped ZnO as their transparent conductive oxide layer exhibit an improved quantum efficiency for λ > 900 nm, which leads to a higher short circuit current density JSC. This aspect is specifically beneficial in preparation of the Cu2ZnSnSe4 solar cells with band gap down to 0.85 eV; our champion device reached a JSC of nearly 39 mAcm−2, an open circuit voltage of 378 mV, and a power conversion efficiency of 8.4 %. [less ▲]

Diffuse Electroreflectance of thin-film solar cells: Suppression of interference-related lineshape distortions

in Applied Physics Letters (2015), 107

The band gap of Cu2ZnSnSe4: Effect of order-disorder

in Applied Physics Letters (2014), 105