Surface Passivation for Reliable Measurement of Bulk Electronic Properties of Heterojunction Devices. Issue 38 (4th August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bissig, Benjamin; Guerra‐Nunez, Carlos; Carron, Romain; Nishiwaki, Shiro; La Mattina, Fabio; Pianezzi, Fabian; Losio, Paolo A.; Avancini, Enrico; Reinhard, Patrick; Haass, Stefan G.; Lingg, Martina; Feurer, Thomas; Utke, Ivo; Buecheler, Stephan; Tiwari, Ayodhya N.
• Is Part Of: Small. Volume 12:Issue 38(2016)
• Page Start: 5339
• Page End: 5346
• Publication Date: 2016-08-04
• Subjects: atomic layer deposition -- CIGS -- electron beam induced current -- surface passivation -- heterojunctions -- thin film solar cells; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanoparticles -- Periodicals; Microtechnology -- Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201601575
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1613-6810

Abstract

Abstract : Quantum efficiency measurements of state of the art Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells reveal current losses in the near infrared spectral region. These losses can be ascribed to inadequate optical absorption or poor collection of photogenerated charge carriers. Insight on the limiting mechanism is crucial for the development of more efficient devices. The electron beam induced current measurement technique applied on device cross‐sections promises an experimental access to depth resolved information about the charge carrier collection probability. Here, this technique is used to show that charge carrier collection in CIGS deposited by multistage co‐evaporation at low temperature is efficient over the optically active region and collection losses are minor as compared to the optical ones. Implications on the favorable absorber design are discussed. Furthermore, it is observed that the measurement is strongly affected by cross‐section surface recombination and an accurate determination of the collection efficiency is not possible. Therefore it is proposed and shown that the use of an Al2 O3 layer deposited onto the cleaved cross‐section significantly improves the accuracy of the measurement by reducing the surface recombination. A model for the passivation mechanism is presented and the passivation concept is extended to other solar cell technologies such as CdTe and Cu2 (Zn, Sn)(S, Se)4 . Abstract : Alumina is deposited by atomic layer deposition on a heterojunction device to reduce recombination in a surface sensitive electrical measurement. As an example and for validation this study investigates baseline Cu(In, Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells and derives an estimate for the collection and optical loss in the quantum efficiency. The approach is extended to CdTe, and Kesterite absorbers.