Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films. (November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Elizabeth, Amala; Conradi, Hauke; Sahoo, Sudhir K.; Kodalle, Tim; Kaufmann, Christian A.; Kühne, Thomas D.; Mirhosseini, Hossein; Abou-Ras, Daniel; Mönig, Harry
• Is Part Of: Acta materialia. Volume 200(2020)
• Page Start: 463
• Page End: 470
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Subjects: Chalcopyrite absorber -- Scanning tunneling spectroscopy -- Electron backscatter diffraction -- Density functional theory -- Surface dipole; Materials -- Periodicals; Materials science -- Periodicals; Materials -- Mechanical properties -- Periodicals; Metallurgy -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Inorganic -- Periodicals; 620.112
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-6454

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Abstract: Individual grains of chalcopyrite solar cell absorbers can facet in different crystallographic directions at their surfaces. To gain a deeper understanding of the junction formation in these devices, we correlate variations in the surface facet orientation with the defect electronic properties. We use a combined analytical approach based on scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), scanning electron microscopy, and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD), where we perform these experiments on identical surface areas as small as 2 × 2 µm 2 with a lateral resolution well below 50 nm. The topography of the absorber surfaces indicates two main morphological features: micro-faceted, long basalt-like columns and their short nano-faceted terminations. Our STS results reveal that the long columns exhibit spectral signatures typical for the presence of pronounced oxidation-induced surface dipoles in conjunction with an increased density of electronic defect levels. In contrast, the nano-faceted terminations of the basalt-like columns are largely passivated in terms of electronic defect levels within the band gap region. Corresponding crystallographic data based on EBSD experiments show that the surface of the basalt-like columns can be assigned to intrinsically polar facet orientations, while the passivated terminations are assigned to non-polar planes. Ab-initio calculations suggest that the polar surfaces are more prone to oxidation and resulting O-induced defects, in comparison to non-polar planes. Our results emphasize the correlation between morphology, surface facet orientations and surface electronic properties. Furthermore, this work aids in gaining a fundamental understanding of oxidation induced lateral inhomogeneities in view of the p-n junction formation in chalcopyrite thin-film solar cells.