Deposition and structural characteristics of cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique from a bath containing thiourea,cadmium acetate,ammonium acetate and ammonia in an aqueous solu...Deposition and structural characteristics of cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique from a bath containing thiourea,cadmium acetate,ammonium acetate and ammonia in an aqueous solution are reported.Researches are made on the influence of the fundamental parameters including pH,temperature,and concentrations of the solution involved in the chemical bath deposition of CdS and titration or dumping of the thiourea solution on the structure characteristic of CdS thin films.The pH of the solution plays a vital role on the characteristic of the CdS thin films.The XRD patterns show that the change in the pH of the solution results in the change in crystal phase from predominant hexagonal phase to predominant cubic phase.The CdS thin films with the two different crystal phases have different influences on CIGS thin film solar cells.The crystal mismatch and the interface state density of the c-CdS(cubic phase CdS) and CIGS are about 1 419% and 8 507×10 12cm -2 respectively,and those of the h-CdS(hexagonal phase CdS) and CIGS are about 32 297% and 2 792×10 12cm -2 respectively.It is necessary for high efficiency CIGS thin film solar cells to deposit the cubic phase CdS thin films.展开更多
Thin films of copper indium gallium selenide Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） were prepared by sequential elemental layer deposition in vacuum at room temperature. The as-deposited films were heated in vacuum for compound form...Thin films of copper indium gallium selenide Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） were prepared by sequential elemental layer deposition in vacuum at room temperature. The as-deposited films were heated in vacuum for compound formation, and were studied at temperature as high as 1250℃ for the first time. These films were concurrently studied for their structural properties by X-ray diffraction （XRD） technique. The XRD analyses include phase transition studies, grain size variation and microstrain measurements with the reaction temperature and time.It has been observed that there are three distinct regions of variation in all these parameters. These regions belong to three temperature regimes： 〈450℃, 450-950℃, and 〉950℃. It is also seen that the compound formation starts at 250℃, with ternary phases appearing at 350℃ or above. Whereas, there is another phase shift at 950℃ without any preference to the quaternary compound.展开更多
The beneficial effect of the alkali metals such as Na and K on the Cu（In.Ga）Se2 （CIGS） and Cu2ZnSn（S,Se）4 （CZTSSe） solar cells has been extensively investigated in the past two decades, however, in most of the...The beneficial effect of the alkali metals such as Na and K on the Cu（In.Ga）Se2 （CIGS） and Cu2ZnSn（S,Se）4 （CZTSSe） solar cells has been extensively investigated in the past two decades, however, in most of the studies the alkali metals were treated as dopants. Several recent studies have showed that the alkali metals may not only act as dopants but also form secondary phases in the absorber layer or on the surfaces of the films. Using the first-principles calculations, we screened out the most probable secondary phases of Na and K in CIGS and CZTSSe, and studied their electronic structures and optical properties. We found that all these alkali chalcogenide compounds have larger band gaps and lower VBM levels than CIGS and CZTSSe, because the existence of strong p-d coupling in CIS and CZTS pushes the valence band maximum （VBM） level up and reduces the band-gaps, while there is no such p-d coupling in these alkali chalcogenides. This band alignment repels the photo-generated holes from the secondary phases and prevents the electron-hole recombination. Moreover, the study on the optical properties of the secondary phases showed that the absorption coefficients of these alkali chalcogenides are much lower than those of CIGS and CZTSSe in the energy range of 0-3.4eV, which means that the alkali chalcogenides may not influence the absorption of solar light. Since the alkali metal dopants can passivate the grain boundaries and increase the hole carrier concentration, and meanwhile their related secondary phases have innocuous effect on the optical absorption and band alignment, we can understand why the alkali metal dopants can improve the CIGS and CZTSSe solar cell performance.展开更多
The Knudsen effusion cell is often used to grow high-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)thin film in coevaporation processes.However,the traditional single-heating Knudsen effusion cell cannot deliver complete metal selenid...The Knudsen effusion cell is often used to grow high-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)thin film in coevaporation processes.However,the traditional single-heating Knudsen effusion cell cannot deliver complete metal selenides during the whole deposition process,particularly for a low-temperature deposition process,which is probably due to the condensation and droplet ejection at the nozzle of the crucible.In this study,thermodynamics analysis is conducted to decipher the reason for this phenomenon.Furthermore,a new single-heating Knudsen effusion is proposed to solve this difficult problem,which leads to an improvement in the quality of CIGS film and a relative increase in conversion efficiency of 29%at a growth rate of about 230 nmmin1,compared with the traditional efficiency in a lowtemperature rapid-deposition process.展开更多
In this paper, we investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing （RTA） on solar cell performance. An opto-electric conversion efficiency of 11.75% （Voc = 0.64 V, Jsc = 25.88 mA/cm2, FF=72.08%） was obtained und...In this paper, we investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing （RTA） on solar cell performance. An opto-electric conversion efficiency of 11.75% （Voc = 0.64 V, Jsc = 25.88 mA/cm2, FF=72.08%） was obtained under AM 1.5G when the cell was annealed at 300℃ for 30 s. The annealed solar cell showed an average absolute efficiency 1.5% higher than that of the as-deposited one. For the microstructure analysis and the physical phase confirmation, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Raman spectra, front surface reflection （FSR）, internal quantum efficiency （IQE）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were respectively applied to distinguish the causes inducing the efficiency variation. All experimental results implied that the RTA eliminated recombination centers at the p-n junction, reduced the surface optical losses, enhanced the blue response of the CdS buffer layer, and improved the ohmic contact between Mo and Cu（In, Ga）Se2 （CIGS） layers. This leaded to the improved performance of CIGS solar cell.展开更多
The lowest energies which make Cu,In,Ga,and Se atoms composing Cu（In,Ga）Se_2（CIGS） material displaced from their lattice sites are evaluated,respectively.The non-ionizing energy loss（NIEL） for electron in CIGS m...The lowest energies which make Cu,In,Ga,and Se atoms composing Cu（In,Ga）Se_2（CIGS） material displaced from their lattice sites are evaluated,respectively.The non-ionizing energy loss（NIEL） for electron in CIGS material is calculated analytically using the Mott differential cross section.The relation of the introduction rate（k） of the recombination centers to NIEL is modified,then the values of k at different electron energies are calculated.Degradation modeling of CIGS thin-film solar cells irradiated with various-energy electrons is performed according to the characterization of solar cells and the recombination centers.The validity of the modeling approach is verified by comparison with the experimental data.展开更多
This paper reviews the development history of alkali element doping on Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） solar cells and summarizes important achievements that have been made in this field. The influences of incorporation strat...This paper reviews the development history of alkali element doping on Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） solar cells and summarizes important achievements that have been made in this field. The influences of incorporation strategies on CIG5 absorbers and device performances are also reviewed. By analyzing CIGS surface structure and electronic property variation induced by alkali fluoride （NaF and KF） post-deposition treatment （PDT）, we discuss and interpret the following issues： ① The delamination of CIGS thin films induced by Na incorporation facilitates CulnSe2 formation and inhibits Ga during low-temperature co-evaporation process- es. ② The mechanisms of carrier density increase due to defect passivation by Na at grain boundaries and the surface. ③ A thinner buffer layer improves the short-circuit current without open-circuit voltage loss, This is attributed not only to better buffer layer coverage in the early stage of the chemical bath deposition process, but also to higher donor defect （Cd^＋Cu） density, which is transferred from the acceptor defect （C^-cu） and strengthens the buried homojunction. ④ The KF-PDT-induced lower valence band maximum at the absorber surface reduces the recombination at the absorber/buffer interface, which improves the open-circuit voltage and the fill factor of solar cells.展开更多
In this article, we discuss the leading thin-film photovoltaic （PV） technology based on the Cu（ln,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） compound semiconductor. This contribution includes a general comparison with the conventional Si-wa...In this article, we discuss the leading thin-film photovoltaic （PV） technology based on the Cu（ln,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） compound semiconductor. This contribution includes a general comparison with the conventional Si-wafer-based PV technology and discusses the basics of the CIGS technology as well as advances in world-record-level conversion efficiency, production, applications, stability, and future developments with respect to a flexible product. Once in large-scale mass production, the CIGS technology has the highest potential of all PV technologies for cost-efficient clean energy generation.展开更多
文摘Deposition and structural characteristics of cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique from a bath containing thiourea,cadmium acetate,ammonium acetate and ammonia in an aqueous solution are reported.Researches are made on the influence of the fundamental parameters including pH,temperature,and concentrations of the solution involved in the chemical bath deposition of CdS and titration or dumping of the thiourea solution on the structure characteristic of CdS thin films.The pH of the solution plays a vital role on the characteristic of the CdS thin films.The XRD patterns show that the change in the pH of the solution results in the change in crystal phase from predominant hexagonal phase to predominant cubic phase.The CdS thin films with the two different crystal phases have different influences on CIGS thin film solar cells.The crystal mismatch and the interface state density of the c-CdS(cubic phase CdS) and CIGS are about 1 419% and 8 507×10 12cm -2 respectively,and those of the h-CdS(hexagonal phase CdS) and CIGS are about 32 297% and 2 792×10 12cm -2 respectively.It is necessary for high efficiency CIGS thin film solar cells to deposit the cubic phase CdS thin films.
文摘Thin films of copper indium gallium selenide Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） were prepared by sequential elemental layer deposition in vacuum at room temperature. The as-deposited films were heated in vacuum for compound formation, and were studied at temperature as high as 1250℃ for the first time. These films were concurrently studied for their structural properties by X-ray diffraction （XRD） technique. The XRD analyses include phase transition studies, grain size variation and microstrain measurements with the reaction temperature and time.It has been observed that there are three distinct regions of variation in all these parameters. These regions belong to three temperature regimes： 〈450℃, 450-950℃, and 〉950℃. It is also seen that the compound formation starts at 250℃, with ternary phases appearing at 350℃ or above. Whereas, there is another phase shift at 950℃ without any preference to the quaternary compound.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under grant nos.61574059 and 61722402the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFB0700700)+1 种基金Shu-Guang program(15SG20)CC of ECNU
文摘The beneficial effect of the alkali metals such as Na and K on the Cu（In.Ga）Se2 （CIGS） and Cu2ZnSn（S,Se）4 （CZTSSe） solar cells has been extensively investigated in the past two decades, however, in most of the studies the alkali metals were treated as dopants. Several recent studies have showed that the alkali metals may not only act as dopants but also form secondary phases in the absorber layer or on the surfaces of the films. Using the first-principles calculations, we screened out the most probable secondary phases of Na and K in CIGS and CZTSSe, and studied their electronic structures and optical properties. We found that all these alkali chalcogenide compounds have larger band gaps and lower VBM levels than CIGS and CZTSSe, because the existence of strong p-d coupling in CIS and CZTS pushes the valence band maximum （VBM） level up and reduces the band-gaps, while there is no such p-d coupling in these alkali chalcogenides. This band alignment repels the photo-generated holes from the secondary phases and prevents the electron-hole recombination. Moreover, the study on the optical properties of the secondary phases showed that the absorption coefficients of these alkali chalcogenides are much lower than those of CIGS and CZTSSe in the energy range of 0-3.4eV, which means that the alkali chalcogenides may not influence the absorption of solar light. Since the alkali metal dopants can passivate the grain boundaries and increase the hole carrier concentration, and meanwhile their related secondary phases have innocuous effect on the optical absorption and band alignment, we can understand why the alkali metal dopants can improve the CIGS and CZTSSe solar cell performance.
基金The work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2018YFB1500200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61774089 and 61974076)the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin(18JCZDJC31200).
文摘The Knudsen effusion cell is often used to grow high-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se_(2)(CIGS)thin film in coevaporation processes.However,the traditional single-heating Knudsen effusion cell cannot deliver complete metal selenides during the whole deposition process,particularly for a low-temperature deposition process,which is probably due to the condensation and droplet ejection at the nozzle of the crucible.In this study,thermodynamics analysis is conducted to decipher the reason for this phenomenon.Furthermore,a new single-heating Knudsen effusion is proposed to solve this difficult problem,which leads to an improvement in the quality of CIGS film and a relative increase in conversion efficiency of 29%at a growth rate of about 230 nmmin1,compared with the traditional efficiency in a lowtemperature rapid-deposition process.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60876045)the Shanghai Leading Basic Research Project, China (Grant No. 09JC1405900)+1 种基金the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project, China (Grant No. S30105)the R & D Foundation of SHU-SOENs PV Joint Laboratory, China (Grant No. SS-E0700601)
文摘In this paper, we investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing （RTA） on solar cell performance. An opto-electric conversion efficiency of 11.75% （Voc = 0.64 V, Jsc = 25.88 mA/cm2, FF=72.08%） was obtained under AM 1.5G when the cell was annealed at 300℃ for 30 s. The annealed solar cell showed an average absolute efficiency 1.5% higher than that of the as-deposited one. For the microstructure analysis and the physical phase confirmation, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Raman spectra, front surface reflection （FSR）, internal quantum efficiency （IQE）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were respectively applied to distinguish the causes inducing the efficiency variation. All experimental results implied that the RTA eliminated recombination centers at the p-n junction, reduced the surface optical losses, enhanced the blue response of the CdS buffer layer, and improved the ohmic contact between Mo and Cu（In, Ga）Se2 （CIGS） layers. This leaded to the improved performance of CIGS solar cell.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11547151)
文摘The lowest energies which make Cu,In,Ga,and Se atoms composing Cu（In,Ga）Se_2（CIGS） material displaced from their lattice sites are evaluated,respectively.The non-ionizing energy loss（NIEL） for electron in CIGS material is calculated analytically using the Mott differential cross section.The relation of the introduction rate（k） of the recombination centers to NIEL is modified,then the values of k at different electron energies are calculated.Degradation modeling of CIGS thin-film solar cells irradiated with various-energy electrons is performed according to the characterization of solar cells and the recombination centers.The validity of the modeling approach is verified by comparison with the experimental data.
文摘This paper reviews the development history of alkali element doping on Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） solar cells and summarizes important achievements that have been made in this field. The influences of incorporation strategies on CIG5 absorbers and device performances are also reviewed. By analyzing CIGS surface structure and electronic property variation induced by alkali fluoride （NaF and KF） post-deposition treatment （PDT）, we discuss and interpret the following issues： ① The delamination of CIGS thin films induced by Na incorporation facilitates CulnSe2 formation and inhibits Ga during low-temperature co-evaporation process- es. ② The mechanisms of carrier density increase due to defect passivation by Na at grain boundaries and the surface. ③ A thinner buffer layer improves the short-circuit current without open-circuit voltage loss, This is attributed not only to better buffer layer coverage in the early stage of the chemical bath deposition process, but also to higher donor defect （Cd^＋Cu） density, which is transferred from the acceptor defect （C^-cu） and strengthens the buried homojunction. ④ The KF-PDT-induced lower valence band maximum at the absorber surface reduces the recombination at the absorber/buffer interface, which improves the open-circuit voltage and the fill factor of solar cells.
基金funding by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)+1 种基金the German State of Baden-Württembergthe European Union
文摘In this article, we discuss the leading thin-film photovoltaic （PV） technology based on the Cu（ln,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） compound semiconductor. This contribution includes a general comparison with the conventional Si-wafer-based PV technology and discusses the basics of the CIGS technology as well as advances in world-record-level conversion efficiency, production, applications, stability, and future developments with respect to a flexible product. Once in large-scale mass production, the CIGS technology has the highest potential of all PV technologies for cost-efficient clean energy generation.
