Open-Circuit Voltage Loss of Antimony Chalcogenide Solar Cells: Status, Origin, and Possible Solutions

Chao, Chen; Tang, Jiang

doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.0c00940

Cited by 185 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“… 10 To date, the achievable efficiencies of antimony chalcogenides solar cells are largely held back by an open circuit voltage ( V oc ) deficit of ∼0.5–0.6 eV, for which self-trapped photoexcited carriers, defects in the bulk, and interfacial trap states have been considered as causes. 3 , 10 , 11 Insight into the dynamics of charge carriers in these systems has been provided by impedance spectroscopy and ultrafast optical methods, which allow one to cover time scales ranging from femtoseconds to seconds. 6 , 11 − 14 Ultrafast self-trapping of excitons in antimony chalcogenides, and in particular of Sb 2 S 3 , has been ascribed to the partly one-dimensional nature of the crystal and would set an intrinsic limitation for this family of materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

Büttner

Scheler

Pointer

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Antimony chalcogenides represent a family of materials of low toxicity and relative abundance, with a high potential for future sustainable solar energy conversion technology. However, solar cells based on antimony chalcogenides present open-circuit voltage losses that limit their efficiencies. These losses are attributed to several recombination mechanisms, with interfacial recombination being considered as one of the dominant processes. In this work, we exploit atomic layer deposition (ALD) to grow a series of ultrathin ZnS interfacial layers at the TiO 2 /Sb 2 S 3 interface to mitigate interfacial recombination and to increase the carrier lifetime. ALD allows for very accurate control over the ZnS interlayer thickness on the ångström scale (0–1.5 nm) and to deposit highly pure Sb 2 S 3 . Our systematic study of the photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties of these devices by impedance spectroscopy and transient absorption concludes that the optimum ZnS interlayer thickness of 1.0 nm achieves the best balance between the beneficial effect of an increased recombination resistance at the interface and the deleterious barrier behavior of the wide-bandgap semiconductor ZnS. This optimization allows us to reach an overall power conversion efficiency of 5.09% in planar configuration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

Büttner

Scheler

Pointer

et al. 2021

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…C, Schematic of the Mo-coated glass covered by Sb 2 Se 3 nanorod arrays and completed Sb 2 Se 3 /CdS core/shell nanorod array solar cells. D, J-V curve of the champion solar cells (area = 0.2603 cm2…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Boosting V_OC of antimony chalcogenide solar cells: A review on interfaces and defects

et al. 2021

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Antimony chalcogenides, including Sb 2 S 3 , Sb 2 Se 3 , and Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 , have been developed as attractive non-toxic and earth-abundant solar absorber candidates among the thin-film photovoltaic devices. Presently, a record certified power conversion efficiency of 10.5% has been demonstrated for antimony chalcogenide solar cells, which is significantly lower than that of Cu 2 (In,Ga)Se 2 (23.35%) and CdTe (22.1%) thin-film solar cells. The inferior performance in antimony chalcogenide solar cells is mainly owing to a large open-circuit voltage (V OC ) deficit resulted from the defect and interface-assisted recombination. Herein, a comprehensive review on the recent advancements interface band alignment and defect passivation are carried out. This review will provide a solid understanding on the interfaces and defects of antimony chalcogenide solar cells, which is beneficial to the research and development of such kind of solar cells.

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“…Chen and Tang demonstrates that the minimum V oc deficit at room temperature is about 0.24–0.28 V when E g ranges from 1.0 to 1.7 eV. [ 64 ] Here, we assume that the V oc deficits of Sb 2 S 3 , Sb 2 (S 0.7 Se 0.3 ) 3 , and Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells are 0.28, 0.26, and 0.25 eV, respectively. Then, by subtracting the deficits from the sum of E g / q with each sub‐cell, the ideal V oc of triple‐junction tandem solar cells can be predicted as 3.66 V, which is consistent with our simulation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical Insight into High‐Efficiency Triple‐Junction Tandem Solar Cells via the Band Engineering of Antimony Chalcogenides

et al. 2021

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Antimony chalcogenides have become a family of promising photoelectric materials for high‐efficiency solar cells. To date, single‐junction solar cells based on individual antimony selenide or sulfide are dominant and show limited photoelectric conversion efficiency. Therefore, great gaps remain for the multiple junction solar cells. Herein, triple‐junction antimony chalcogenides‐based solar cells are designed and optimized with a theoretical efficiency of 32.98% through band engineering strategies with Sb2S3/Sb2(S0.7Se0.3)3/Sb2Se3 stacking. The optimum Se content of the mid‐cell should be maintained low, i.e., 30% for achieving a low defect density in an absorber layer. Therefore, Sb2(S0.7Se0.3)3‐based mid solar cells have contributed to elevate the external quantum efficiency in triple‐junction devices by the full utilization of the solar spectrum. In a single‐junction solar cell, the bandgap gradient is regulated through the Se content gradient along the depth profile of Sb2(S1−xSex)3. Besides, an increasing Se content profile provides an additional built‐in electric field for boosting hole charge carrier collection. Thus, the high charge carrier generation rate leads to a 17.96% improvement in the conversion efficiency compared with a conventional cell. This work may pave the way to boost the conversion efficiency of antimony chalcogenides‐based solar cells to their theoretical limits.

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Open-Circuit Voltage Loss of Antimony Chalcogenide Solar Cells: Status, Origin, and Possible Solutions

Cited by 185 publications

References 90 publications

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

Boosting V_OC of antimony chalcogenide solar cells: A review on interfaces and defects

Theoretical Insight into High‐Efficiency Triple‐Junction Tandem Solar Cells via the Band Engineering of Antimony Chalcogenides

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Open-Circuit Voltage Loss of Antimony Chalcogenide Solar Cells: Status, Origin, and Possible Solutions

Cited by 185 publications

References 90 publications

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb2S3-based Photovoltaics

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb2S3-based Photovoltaics

Boosting VOC of antimony chalcogenide solar cells: A review on interfaces and defects

Theoretical Insight into High‐Efficiency Triple‐Junction Tandem Solar Cells via the Band Engineering of Antimony Chalcogenides

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ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb₂S₃-based Photovoltaics

Boosting V_OC of antimony chalcogenide solar cells: A review on interfaces and defects