Influence of Composition on the Performance of Sintered Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Nanocrystal Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

Thin‐film photovoltaic devices (PVs) were prepared by selenization using oleylamine‐capped Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) nanocrystals sintered at a high temperature (>500 °C) under Se vapor. The device performance varied significantly with [Ga]/[In+Ga] content in the nanocrystals. The highest power convers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ChemSusChem 2013-03, Vol.6 (3), p.481-486
Main Authors: Akhavan, Vahid A., Harvey, Taylor B., Stolle, C. Jackson, Ostrowski, David P., Glaz, Micah S., Goodfellow, Brian W., Panthani, Matthew G., Reid, Dariya K., Vanden Bout, David A., Korgel, Brian A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
copper
Copper - chemistry
Electric Conductivity
Electric Power Supplies
gallium
Gallium - chemistry
indium
Indium - chemistry
Nanoparticles - chemistry
selenium
Selenium - chemistry
Solar Energy
thin films
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Summary:Thin‐film photovoltaic devices (PVs) were prepared by selenization using oleylamine‐capped Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) nanocrystals sintered at a high temperature (>500 °C) under Se vapor. The device performance varied significantly with [Ga]/[In+Ga] content in the nanocrystals. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) observed in the devices studied was 5.1 % under air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5 G) illumination, obtained with [Ga]/[In+Ga]=0.32. The variation in PCE with composition is partly a result of bandgap tuning and optimization, but the main influence of nanocrystal composition appeared to be on the quality of the sintered films. The [Cu]/[In+Ga] content was found to be strongly influenced by the [Ga]/[In+Ga] concentration, which appears to be correlated with the morphology of the sintered film. For this reason, only small changes in the [Ga]/[In+Ga] content resulted in significant variations in device efficiency. Composition influences sintering and performance: The performance of selenized Cu(In,Ga)Se2 nanocrystal photovoltaics has been observed to change dramatically with different [Ga]/[In+Ga] ratios in the nanocrystals. The [Ga]/[In+Ga] concentration alters the [Cu]/[In+Ga] content in the nanocrystals, which influences sintering and film morphology (see image), leading to very significant variations in device efficiency.
ISSN:1864-5631
1864-564X
DOI:10.1002/cssc.201200677