The Energy Level Alignment at the Buffer/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin‐Film Solar Cell Interface for CdS and GaO_x

Abstract Sputter‐deposited GaO_x (i.e., oxygen‐deficient gallium oxide) films are evaluated as a potential replacement for the standard CdS buffer layers in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGSe) based thin‐film photovoltaics. The energy level alignment at the GaO_x/CIGSe and CdS/CIGSe interfaces are compared by means of direct and inverse photoemission. For the GaO_x/CIGSe a (0.04 ± 0.07) eV (i.e., a small spike‐like) conduction band offset (CBO) and a (−3.21 ± 0.19) eV (i.e., a large cliff‐like) valence band offset (VBO) are found, which suggests a nearly ideal charge‐selective contact. The derived GaO_x band gap of (4.80 ± 0.25) eV confirms its utility as a highly transparent buffer layer. However, the GaO_x (with x derived to be 1.1 ± 0.1) exhibits considerable (presumably) defect‐related occupied states above the valence band maximum. It is proposed that these states may increase charge carrier recombination and decrease open circuit voltage in respective devices; also explaining why solar cells with standard CdS buffer outperform devices with GaOx buffer, despite less ideal electronic interface properties (CBO: (−0.18 ± 0.07) eV, VBO: (−0.98 ± 0.15) eV) and the smaller CdS band gap of (2.35 ± 0.22) eV.