Optical Hall Effect of PV Device Materials

Electrical transport properties [carrier concentration (N), mobility (μ), effective mass (m*), resistivity (ρ), and scattering time (τ)] are deduced from free carrier optical absorption using noncontacting optical Hall effect measurements. Here, we use this technique to determine N, μ, and m* for semiconductor absorber materials for photovoltaic (PV) devices. As case studies, PV component materials including thin-film methylammonium lead iodide, cadmium telluride, and copper indium diselenide as well as silicon wafers are characterized. Optical Hall effect measurements involve collecting long wavelength ellipsometric spectra under the application of an external magnetic field to determine N and μ for these thin films, and N, μ, and m* for the silicon wafers. ρ and τ are also determined for each sample from N, μ, and m* using the Drude model. In all cases, an additional transport parameter measurement is accessible relative to standard optical measurements alone even for the PV absorber materials having low free carrier absorption. As the technique is noncontacting, it could be very useful for the determination of transport properties of layers in complex multilayer stacks such as those in thin film and wafer-based PV devices.