Christopher Frisk

Introduction of Si PERC Rear Contacting Designto Boost Efficiency of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

Recently, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells have achieved 21% world-record efficiency, partly due to the introduction of a postdeposition potassium treatment to improve the front interface of CIGS absorber layers. However, as high-efficiency CIGS solar cells essentially require long diffusion lengths, the highly recombinative rear of these devices also deserves attention. In this paper, an Al2O3 rear surface passivation layer with nanosized local point contacts is studied to reduce recombination at the standard Mo/CIGS rear interface. First, passivation layers with well-controlled grids of nanosized point openings are established by use of electron beam lithography. Next, rear-passivated CIGS solar cells with 240-nm-thick absorber layers are fabricated as study devices. These cells show an increase in open-circuit voltage (+57 mV), short-circuit current (+3.8 mA/cm2), and fill factor [9.5% (abs.)], compared with corresponding unpassivated reference cells, mainly due to improvements in rear surface passivation and rear internal reflection. Finally, solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) modeling is used to calculate the effect of reduced back contact recombination on high-efficiency solar cells with standard absorber layer thickness. The modeling shows that up to 50-mV increase in open-circuit voltage is anticipated.

Optimizing Ga-profiles for highly efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells in simple and complex defect models

Highly efficient Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 photovoltaic thin film solar cells often have a compositional variation of Ga to In in the absorber layer, here described as a Ga-profile. In this work we have stu ...

CZTS solar cell device simulations with varying absorber thickness

In this study the influence of absorber layer thickness on the trends of the four current-voltage (J-V) parameters for our CZTS solar cells is studied with simulations and compared with empirical data. In the case of dominating interface recombination we find that open-circuit voltage and fill-factor are largely unaffected by thickness variations 0.5 - 2.0 μm, whereas short-circuit current, and thereby efficiency, saturates (98 % of max) at >1.1 μm absorber thickness, in agreement with measurements. In the case of suppressed interface recombination all four J-V parameters exhibit strong thickness dependence at <;0.5 μm due to back contact recombination.

A Systematic Study of Light-On-Bias Behavior in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells With Varying Absorber Compositions

Light-on-bias effects were investigated in multiple Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ solar cells with varying absorber layer compositions. A strong link between deformations caused by red-on-bias treatments in current–voltage (<italic>IV </italic>) and capacitance–voltage (<italic>CV</italic>) characteristics was demonstrated. Similarly to red-on-bias, blue-on-bias leads to a local increase in static negative charge, but in samples with CdS buffers this increase is shifted away from the interface and has no impact on device performance. <italic>IV</italic> characteristics of samples with Cd-free buffers are not affected by any light-on-bias treatments, suggesting that CdS plays a vital role in the decreased performance after red-on-bias. A statistical approach was used to search for compositional trends in red-on-bias behavior. Deformation factors were defined for <italic>IV</italic> and <italic>CV </italic> characteristics before and after the treatment. While there is a strong relationship between the deformations observed in both types of measurements, the degree to which red-on-bias affects <italic>IV</italic> and <italic>CV </italic> curves can vary dramatically. These variations cannot be attributed to changes in composition, since no clear compositional trends were found. Rather, other factors related to sample manufacturing and to the buffer layer seem to have major impact on red-on-bias behavior.