Wide band gap kesterite absorbers for thin film solar cells: potential and challenges for their deployment in tandem devices

This work reports on developments in the field of wide band gap Cu 2 ZnXY 4 (with X = Sn, Si or Ge, and Y = S, Se) kesterite thin film solar cells. An overview on recent developments and the current understanding of wide band gap kesterite absorber layers, alternative buffer layers, and suitable tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainable energy & fuels 2019-08, Vol.3 (9), p.2246-2259
Main Authors: Vermang, Bart, Brammertz, Guy, Meuris, Marc, Schnabel, Thomas, Ahlswede, Erik, Choubrac, Leo, Harel, Sylvie, Cardinaud, Christophe, Arzel, Ludovic, Barreau, Nicolas, van Deelen, Joop, Bolt, Pieter-Jan, Bras, Patrice, Ren, Yi, Jaremalm, Eric, Khelifi, Samira, Yang, Sheng, Lauwaert, Johan, Batuk, Maria, Hadermann, Joke, Kozina, Xeniya, Handick, Evelyn, Hartmann, Claudia, Gerlach, Dominic, Matsuda, Asahiko, Ueda, Shigenori, Chikyow, Toyohiro, Félix, Roberto, Zhang, Yufeng, Wilks, Regan G, Bär, Marcus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorbers
Buffer layers
Condensed Matter
Electronic devices
Energy gap
Germanium
Materials Science
Open circuit voltage
Organic chemistry
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaics
Physics
Protective coatings
Silicon
Solar cells
Thin films
Tin
Tin dioxide
Titanium dioxide
Zinc
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Summary:This work reports on developments in the field of wide band gap Cu 2 ZnXY 4 (with X = Sn, Si or Ge, and Y = S, Se) kesterite thin film solar cells. An overview on recent developments and the current understanding of wide band gap kesterite absorber layers, alternative buffer layers, and suitable transparent back contacts is presented. Cu 2 ZnGe(S,Se) 4 absorbers with absorber band gaps up to 1.7 eV have been successfully developed and integrated into solar cells. Combining a CdS buffer layer prepared by an optimized chemical bath deposition process with a 1.36 eV band gap absorber resulted in a record Cu 2 ZnGeSe 4 cell efficiency of 7.6%, while the highest open-circuit voltage of 730 mV could be obtained for a 1.54 eV band gap absorber and a Zn(O,S) buffer layer. Employing InZnO x or TiO 2 protective top layers on SnO 2 :In transparent back contacts yields 85-90% of the solar cell performance of reference cells (with Mo back contact). These advances show the potential as well as the challenges of wide band gap kesterites for future applications in high-efficiency and low-cost tandem photovoltaic devices. This study describes the potential and challenges involved with the use of wide bandgap kesterite absorbers in tandem solar cells.
ISSN:2398-4902
2398-4902
DOI:10.1039/c9se00266a