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Potential gain in photocurrent generation for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells by using In2O3 as a transparent conductive oxide layer
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences, Solid State Electronics.
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences, Solid State Electronics.
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences, Solid State Electronics.
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences, Solid State Electronics.
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2016 (English)In: Progress in Photovoltaics, ISSN 1062-7995, E-ISSN 1099-159X, Vol. 24, no 1, p. 102-107Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This study highlights the potential of atomic layer deposited In2O3 as a highly transparent and conductive oxide (TCO)layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) solar cells. It is shown that the efficiency of solar cells which use Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) as an alternativebuffer layer can be increased by employing In2O3 as a TCO because of a reduction of the parasitic absorption inthe window layer structure, resulting in 1.7 mA/cm2 gain in short circuit current density (Jsc). In contrast, a degradation ofdevice properties is observed if the In2O3 TCO is combined with the conventional CdS buffer layer. The estimated improvementfor large-scale modules is discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2016. Vol. 24, no 1, p. 102-107
Keywords [en]
In2O3; ALD; Zn-Sn-O; alternative window layer; CIGSe; TCO
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260877DOI: 10.1002/pip.2655ISI: 000370320100011OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-260877DiVA, id: diva2:848645
Funder
Swedish Energy AgencyVINNOVAAvailable from: 2015-08-25 Created: 2015-08-25 Last updated: 2017-12-04Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Atomic layer deposition of zinc tin oxide buffer layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Atomic layer deposition of zinc tin oxide buffer layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells
2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The aim of this thesis is to provide an in-depth investigation of zinc tin oxide, Zn1-xSnxOy or ZTO, grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a buffer layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. The thesis analyzes how changes in the ALD process influence the material properties of ZTO, and how these in turn affect the performance of CIGS solar cells.

It is shown that ZTO grows uniformly and conformably on CIGS and that the interface between ZTO and CIGS is sharp with little or no interdiffusion between the layers. The band gap and conduction band energy level of ZTO are dependent both on the [Sn]/([Zn]+[Sn]) composition and on the deposition temperature. The influence by changes in composition is non-trivial, and the highest band gap and conduction band energy level are obtained at a [Sn]/([Zn]+[Sn]) composition of 0.2 at 120  °C. An increase in optical band gap is observed at decreasing deposition temperatures and is associated with quantum confinement effects caused by a decrease in crystallite size. The ability to change the conduction band energy level of ZTO enables the formation of suitable conduction band offsets between ZTO and CIGS with varying Ga-content.

It is found that 15 nm thin ZTO buffer layers are sufficient to fabricate CIGS solar cells with conversion efficiencies up to 18.2 %. The JSC is in general 2 mA/cm2 higher, and the VOC 30 mV lower, for cells with the ZTO buffer layer as compared to cells with the traditional CdS buffer layer. In the end comparable efficiencies are obtained for the two different buffer layers. The gain in JSC for the ZTO buffer layer is associated with lower parasitic absorption in the UV-blue region of the solar spectrum and it is shown that the JSC can be increased further by making changes to the other layers in the traditional CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al window layer structure. The ZTO is highly resistive, and it is found that the shunt preventing i-ZnO layer can be omitted, which further increases the JSC. Moreover, an additional increase in JSC is obtained by replacing the sputtered ZnO:Al front contact with In2O3 deposited by ALD. The large gain in JSC for the ZTO/In2O3 window layer stack compensates for the lower VOC related to the ZTO buffer layer, and it is demonstrated that the ZTO/In2O3 window layer structure yields 0.6 % (absolute) higher conversion efficiency than the CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al window layer structure. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2015. p. 104
Series
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, ISSN 1651-6214 ; 1277
Keywords
CIGS; Solar cells; Thin film; Buffer layer; TCO; Window layer; Zinc tin oxide; ZTO; Indium oxide
National Category
Engineering and Technology Materials Engineering
Research subject
Engineering Science with specialization in Electronics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260882 (URN)978-91-554-9313-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-10-16, Häggsalen, Lägerhyddsvägen 1, Uppsala, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 2012-00-4591
Available from: 2015-09-24 Created: 2015-08-25 Last updated: 2015-10-01

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Publisher's full texthttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pip.2655/full

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Keller, JanLindahl, JohanEdoff, MarikaStolt, LarsTörndahl, Tobias

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