Nanometer-scale electronic and microstructural properties of grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2

S. Sadewasser; D. Abou-Ras; D. Azulay; R. Baier; I. Balberg; David Cahen; Sidney R. Cohen; Konstantin Gartsman; K. Ganesan; J. Kavalakkatt; Wenbo Li; O. Millo; Th. Rissom; Y. Rosenwaks; H. -W. Schock; A. Schwarzman; T. Unold

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.227

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Nanometer-scale electronic and microstructural properties of grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2

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Nanometer-scale electronic and microstructural properties of grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2

S. Sadewasser, D. Abou-Ras, D. Azulay, R. Baier, I. Balberg, David Cahen, Sidney R. Cohen, Konstantin Gartsman, K. Ganesan, J. Kavalakkatt, …

Thin Solid Films, Vol.519(21), pp.7341-7346

Aug/2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.227

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Abstract

Despite many recent research efforts, the influence of grain boundaries (GBs) on device properties of CuIn1-xGaxSe2 solar cells is still not fully understood Here, we present a microscopic approach to characterizing GBs in polycrystalline CuIn1-xGaxSe2 films with x = 0.33. On samples from the same deposition process we applied methods giving complementary information, i.e., electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), electron-beam induced current measurements (EBIC), conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM), variable-temperature Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), and scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). By combining EBIC with EBSD, we find a decrease in charge-carrier collection for non-Sigma 3 GBs, while Sigma 3 GBs exhibit no variation with respect to grain interiors. In contrast, a higher conductance of GBs compared to grain interiors was found by c-AFM at low bias and under illumination. By KPFM, we directly measured the band bending at GBs, finding a variation from -80 up to +115 mV. Depletion and even inversion at GBs was confirmed by SCM. We comparatively discuss the apparent differences between the results obtained by various microscopic techniques. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Details

Title: Nanometer-scale electronic and microstructural properties of grain boundaries in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2
Creators: S. Sadewasser (null) - Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
D. Abou-Ras (null)
D. Azulay (null) - Hebrew University of Jerusalem
R. Baier (null)
I. Balberg (null)
David Cahen (null) - The Weizmann Institute of Science
Sidney R. Cohen (null) - 972WIS_INST___100
Konstantin Gartsman (null) - The Weizmann Institute of Science
K. Ganesan (null)
J. Kavalakkatt (null)
Wenbo Li (null) - 972WIS_INST___112
O. Millo (null)
Th. Rissom (null)
Y. Rosenwaks (null)
H. -W. Schock (null)
A. Schwarzman (null) - Tel Aviv University
T. Unold (null)
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Thin Solid Films, Vol.519(21), pp.7341-7346; Aug/2011
Number of pages: 6
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.12.227
Grant note: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) [0327559H]The authors are grateful to Christian Kaufmann for valuable support with the sample growth. We acknowledge funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under contract #0327559H._ALMAME_DELIMITER_
Record Identifier: 993265305503596

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