Influence of sputtered gallium oxide as buffer or high-resistive layer on performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cells
Source abstract
Abstract
Oxides could be candidates for buffer, passivation, or high-resistive (HR) layers in Cu(In,Ga)Se2(CIGS) thin-film solar cells. From an industrial point of view, a high-rate and dry deposition method like sputtering would be the most favorable technique. This study presents results with the wide-bandgap material gallium oxide (Ga2O3) deposited by magnetron sputtering applied as a substitution for the traditional CdS buffer or the intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO) HR layer. With state-of-the-art CIGS absorber layers, subject to a RbF post-deposition treatment, an ammonia rinsing of the CIGS surface before sputtering of X-ray amorphous Ga2O3has mostly a positive impact on device performance reaching efficiencies up to 14%. An efficiency of 20.2% with anti-reflective coating was achieved with Ga2O3applied as HR layer as substitution for i-ZnO in combination with a solution-grown CdS buffer and ZnO:Al as front contact. This result is comparable to the efficiency of 20.4% for the CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al reference cell.Graphical abstract
Source: expertdata · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films · Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties · ZnO doping and properties
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (31)
Show source-provided references
1. M. Higashiwaki, S. Fujita, Gallium Oxide (Springer International Publisher, Cham, 2020)10.1007/978-3-030-37153-1 ↗
2. P. Jackson, R. Wuerz, D. Hariskos, E. Lotter, W. Witte, M. Powalla, Effects of heavy alkali elements in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with efficiencies up to 22.6%. Phys. Stat. Sol. (RRL) 10, 583–586 (2016)10.1002/pssr.201600199 ↗
3. S. Ishizuka, N. Taguchi, J. Nishinaga, Y. Kamikawa, S. Tanaka, H. Shibata, Group III elemental composition dependence of RbF postdeposition treatment effects on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells. J. Phys. Chem. C 122, 3809–3817 (2018)10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b00079 ↗
4. R. Carron, S. Nishiwaki, T. Feurer, R. Hertwig, E. Avancini, J. Löckinger, S.-C. Yang, S. Buecheler, A.N. Tiwari, Advanced alkali treatments for high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells on flexible substrates. Adv. Energy Mater. 9, 1900408 (2019)10.1002/aenm.201900408 ↗
5. D. Hariskos, R. Menner, P. Jackson, S. Paetel, W. Witte, W. Wischmann, M. Powalla, L. Bürkert, T. Kolb, M. Oertel, B. Dimmler, B. Fuchs, New reaction kinetics for a high-rate chemical bath deposition of the Zn(S,O) buffer layer for Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cells. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 20, 534–542 (2012)10.1002/pip.1244 ↗
6. K. Kikuchi, S. Imura, K. Miyakawa, M. Kubota, E. Ohta, Electrical and optical properties of Ga2O3/CuGaSe2 heterojunction photoconductors. Thin Solid Films 550, 635–637 (2014)10.1016/j.tsf.2013.10.036 ↗
7. M.D. Heinemann, M.F.A.M. van Hest, M. Contreras, J.D. Perkins, A. Zakutayev, C.A. Kaufmann, T. Unold, D.S. Ginley, J.J. Berry, Amorphous oxides as electron transport layers in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 superstrate devices. Phys. Stat. Sol. A 214, 1600870 (2017)
8. S. Garud, N. Gampa, T.G. Allen, R. Kotipalli, D. Flandre, M. Batuk, J. Hadermann, M. Meuris, J. Poortmans, A. Smets, B. Vermang, Surface passivation of CIGS solar cells using gallium oxide. Phys. Stat. Sol. A 215, 1700826 (2018)
9. T. Koida, Y. Kamikawa-Shimizu, A. Yamada, H. Shibata, S. Niki, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with amorphous oxide semiconducting buffer layers. IEEE J. Photovolt. 5, 956–961 (2015)10.1109/JPHOTOV.2015.2396356 ↗
10. H.A. Yetkin, T. Kodalle, T. Bertram, A. Vellanueva-Tovar, R. Klenk, B. Szyszka, R. Schlatmann, C.A. Kaufmann, in Proc. 47th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) 2020, Comparison of the Thermal Stability of Differently Buffered CIGSe Solar Cells. pp. 1192–1197 (2020)10.1109/PVSC45281.2020.9300930 ↗
11. W. Witte, S. Paetel, R. Menner, A. Bauer, D. Hariskos, The application of sputtered gallium oxide as buffer for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. Phys. Stat. Sol. (RRL) 15, 2100180 (2021)10.1002/pssr.202100180 ↗
12. A. Chirila, P. Reinhard, F. Pianezzi, P. Bloesch, A.R. Uhl, C. Fella, L. Kranz, D. Keller, C. Gretener, H. Hagendorfer, D. Jaeger, R. Erni, S. Nishiwaki, S. Buecheler, A.N. Tiwari, Potassium-induced surface modification of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films for high-efficiency solar cells. Nat. Commun. 12, 1107–1111 (2013)
13. S. Siebentritt, E. Avancini, M. Bär, J. Bombsch, E. Bourgeois, S. Buecheler, R. Carron, C. Castro, S. Duguay, R. Félix, E. Handick, D. Hariskos, V. Havu, P. Jackson, H.-P. Komsa, T. Kunze, M. Malitckaya, R. Menozzi, M. Nesladek, N. Nicoara, M. Puska, M. Raghuwanshi, P. Pareige, S. Sadewasser, G. Sozzi, A.N. Tiwari, S. Ueda, A. Vilalta-Clemente, T.P. Weiss, F. Werner, R.G. Wilks, W. Witte, M.H. Wolter, Heavy alkali treatment of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells: surface versus bulk effects. Adv. Energy Mater. 10, 1903752 (2020)10.1002/aenm.201903752 ↗
14. W. Witte, D. Abou-Ras, D. Hariskos, Chemical bath deposition of Zn(O,S) and CdS buffers: influence of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 grain orientation. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 051607 (2013)10.1063/1.4788717 ↗
15. J. Löckinger, S. Nishiwaki, T.P. Weiss, B. Bissig, Y.E. Romanyuk, S. Buecheler, A.N. Tiwari, TiO2 as intermediate buffer layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 174, 397–404 (2018)10.1016/j.solmat.2017.09.030 ↗
16. J. Löckinger, S. Nishiwaki, C. Andres, R. Erni, M.D. Rossell, Y.E. Romanyuk, S. Buecheler, A.N. Tiwari, ALD-ZnxTiyO as window layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10, 43603–43609 (2018)10.1021/acsami.8b14490 ↗
17. B.K. Meyer, A. Polity, B. Farangis, Y. He, D. Hasselkamp, T. Krämer, C. Wang, Structural properties and bandgap bowing of ZnO1−xSx thin films deposited by reactive sputtering. Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 4929–4931 (2004)10.1063/1.1825053 ↗
18. T. Minemoto, T. Negami, S. Nishiwaki, H. Takakura, Y. Hamakawa, Preparation of Zn1-xMgxO films by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Thin Solid Films 372, 173–176 (2000)10.1016/S0040-6090(00)01009-9 ↗
19. 2000 ASTM Standard Extraterrestrial Spectrum Reference E-490–00 by00 from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). NREL website, https://www.nrel.gov/grid/solar-resource/spectra-astm-e490.html. Accessed 19 Oct 2021
20. Reference Air Mass 1.5 Spectra from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). NREL website, https://www.nrel.gov/grid/solar-resource/spectra-am1.5.html. Accessed 19 Oct 2021
21. W. Witte, R. Carron, D. Hariskos, F. Fu, R. Menner, S. Buecheler, IZO or IOH window layers combined with Zn(O,S) and CdS buffers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. Phys. Stat. Sol. A 214, 1700688 (2017)
22. W. Witte, W. Hempel, S. Paetel, R. Menner, D. Hariskos, Effects of sputtered InxSy buffer on CIGS with RbF post-deposition treatment. ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol. 10, 055006 (2021)10.1149/2162-8777/abfc21 ↗
23. F. Larsson, O. Donzel-Gargand, J. Keller, M. Edoff, T. Törndahl, Atomic layer deposition of Zn(O,S) buffer layers for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with KF post-deposition treatment. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 183, 8–15 (2018)10.1016/j.solmat.2018.03.045 ↗
24. R. Hertwig, S. Nishiwaki, M. Ochoa, S.-C. Yang, T. Feurer, E. Gilshtein, A.N. Tiwari, R. Carron, ALD-ZnMgO and absorber surface modifications to substitute CdS buffer layers in co-evaporated CIGSe solar cells. EPJ Photovolt. 11, 12 (2020)10.1051/epjpv/2020010 ↗
25. D. Hariskos, S. Spiering, M. Powalla, Buffer layers in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells and modules. Thin Solid Films 480–481, 99–109 (2005)10.1016/j.tsf.2004.11.118 ↗
26. N. Naghavi, D. Abou-Ras, N. Allsop, N. Barreau, S. Bücheler, A. Ennaoui, C.-H. Fischer, C. Guillen, D. Hariskos, J. Herrero, R. Klenk, K. Kushiya, D. Lincot, R. Menner, T. Nakada, C. Platzer-Björkman, S. Spiering, A.N. Tiwari, T. Törndahl, Buffer layers and transparent conducting oxides for chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 based thin film photovoltaics: present status and current developments. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 18, 411–433 (2010)10.1002/pip.955 ↗
27. D. Hariskos, B. Fuchs, R. Menner, N. Naghavi, C. Hubert, D. Lincot, M. Powalla, The Zn(S,O,OH)/ZnMgO buffer in thin-film Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2-based solar cells part II: Magnetron sputtering of the ZnMgO buffer layer for in-line co-evaporated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 17, 479–488 (2009)10.1002/pip.897 ↗
28. T. Kato, A. Handa, T. Yagioka, T. Matsuura, K. Yamamoto, S. Higashi, J.-L. Wu, K.F. Tai, H. Hiroi, T. Yoshiyama, T. Sakai, H. Sugimoto, Enhanced efficiency of Cd-free Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 minimodules via (Zn,Mg)O second buffer layer and alkali metal post-treatment. IEEE J. Photovolt. 7, 1773–1780 (2017)10.1109/JPHOTOV.2017.2745710 ↗
29. J. Chantana, T. Kato, H. Sugimoto, T. Minemoto, Thin-film Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2-based solar cell with (Cd,Zn)S buffer layer and Zn1-xMgxO window layer. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 25, 431–440 (2017)10.1002/pip.2879 ↗
30. K.F. Tai, R. Kamada, T. Yagioka, T. Kato, H. Sugimoto, From 20.9 to 22.3% Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 solar cell: reduced recombination rate at the heterojunction and the depletion region due to K-treatment. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 56, 08MC03 (2017)10.7567/JJAP.56.08MC03 ↗
31. M. Powalla, P. Jackson, W. Witte, D. Hariskos, S. Paetel, C. Tschamber, W. Wischmann, High-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 cells and modules. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 119, 51–58 (2013)10.1016/j.solmat.2013.05.002 ↗