Review article on the lattice defect and interface loss mechanisms in kesterite materials and their impact on solar cell performance

Sahu, Meenakshi; Reddy, Vasudeva Reddy Minnam; Park, Chinho; Sharma, Pratibha

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2021.10.005

Cited by 30 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 352 publications

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“…They act as shallow acceptors, deep level donors, and recombination centers, resulting in reduced device performance with the increasing the Raman peak area at 233 cm −1 . 41–44 Furthermore, it shows similar behavior to those at 171 cm −1 , resulting in maximum device performances, expect J sc values, for Raman peak area at 245 cm −1 of 0.064 (Fig. 4(c)).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Recently some of the studies unveiled that the Zn Cu anti-site defects are benign in terms of device performance. 41,42 However, it should be noted that, with an increase in the Zn content, the probability of formation of the Zn substitutional defects increases at higher Zn concentrations, including the deep level Zn Sn and shallow level Zn Cu anti-site. Basically, the substitution of Zn on the Cu site (Zn Cu ) results in an ionized positive charge and makes them shallow donors.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

et al. 2022

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

et al. 2022

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“…In particular, this issue is related to the back contact due to the bulky MoS 2 presence already described in other works of our research group 11 , 25 and to the well-known bulk features typical of the kesterite phase and also revealed by PL analysis. 46 …”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Band-Gap Tuning Induced by Germanium Introduction in Solution-Processed Kesterite Thin Films

et al. 2022

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In the last few decades, the attention of scientific community has been driven toward the research on renewable energies. In particular, the photovoltaic (PV) thin-film technology has been widely explored to provide suitable candidates as top cells for tandem architectures, with the purpose of enhancing current PV efficiencies. One of the most studied absorbers, made of earth-abundant elements, is kesterite Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS), showing a high absorption coefficient and a band gap around 1.4–1.5 eV. In particular, thanks to the ease of band-gap tuning by partial/total substitution of one or more of its elements, the high-band-gap kesterite derivatives have drawn a lot of attention aiming to find the perfect partner as a top absorber to couple with silicon in tandem solar cells (especially in a four-terminal architecture). In this work, we report the effects of the substitution of tin with different amounts of germanium in CZTS-based solar cells produced with an extremely simple sol–gel process, demonstrating how it is possible to fine-tune the band gap of the absorber and change its chemical–physical properties in this way. The precursor solution was directly drop-cast onto the substrate and spread with the aid of a film applicator, followed by a few minutes of gelation and annealing in an inert atmosphere. The desired crystalline phase was obtained without the aid of external sulfur sources as the precursor solution contained thiourea as well as metal acetates responsible for the in situ coordination and thus the correct networking of the metal centers. The addition of KCl in dopant amounts to the precursor solution allowed the formation of well-grown compact grains and enhanced the material quality. The materials obtained with the optimized procedure were characterized in depth through different techniques, and they showed very good properties in terms of purity, compactness, and grain size. Moreover, solar-cell prototypes were produced and measured, exhibiting poor charge extraction due to heavy back-contact sulfurization as studied in depth and experimentally demonstrated through Kelvin probe force microscopy.

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“…The FF is calculated by equating the maximum power (Pmax) to the theoretical power (Pt) that would be output at both the short circuit current (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) together as given in Equation ( 6). The ratio of the energy output from the photovoltaic solar cell to the energy input from the sun is the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and is mathematically expressed in Equation ( 7) [35]. The curves of current density-voltage (J−V) characteristic and quantum efficiencywavelength (QE-λ) were obtained, and these are shown in Figures 4 and 5, respectively.…”

Section: Figure 2 J−v Characteristics Of Lead-free N-i-p Pscsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of a Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cell Using CZTS as HTL to Achieve a 20% PCE by SCAPS-1D Simulation

et al. 2021

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In this paper, a n-i-p planar heterojunction simulation of Sn-based iodide perovskite solar cell (PSC) is proposed. The solar cell structure consists of a Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate on which titanium oxide (TiO2) is placed; this material will act as an electron transporting layer (ETL); then, we have the tin perovskite CH3NH3SnI3 (MASnI3) which is the absorber layer and next a copper zinc and tin sulfide (CZTS) that will have the function of a hole transporting layer (HTL). This material is used due to its simple synthesis process and band tuning, in addition to presenting good electrical properties and stability; it is also a low-cost and non-toxic inorganic material. Finally, gold (Au) is placed as a back contact. The lead-free perovskite solar cell was simulated using a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D). The simulations were performed under AM 1.5G light illumination and focused on getting the best efficiency of the solar cell proposed. The thickness of MASnI3 and CZTS, band gap of CZTS, operating temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K, acceptor concentration and defect density of absorber layer were the parameters optimized in the solar cell device. The simulation results indicate that absorber thicknesses of 500 nm and 300 nm for CZTS are appropriate for the solar cell. Further, when optimum values of the acceptor density (NA) and defect density (Nt), 1016 cm−3 and 1014 cm−3, respectively, were used, the best electrical values were obtained: Jsc of 31.66 mA/cm2, Voc of 0.96 V, FF of 67% and PCE of 20.28%. Due to the enhanced performance parameters, the structure of the device could be used in applications for a solar energy harvesting system.

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Review article on the lattice defect and interface loss mechanisms in kesterite materials and their impact on solar cell performance

Cited by 30 publications

References 352 publications

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

Band-Gap Tuning Induced by Germanium Introduction in Solution-Processed Kesterite Thin Films

Study of a Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cell Using CZTS as HTL to Achieve a 20% PCE by SCAPS-1D Simulation

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Review article on the lattice defect and interface loss mechanisms in kesterite materials and their impact on solar cell performance

Cited by 30 publications

References 352 publications

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells

Band-Gap Tuning Induced by Germanium Introduction in Solution-Processed Kesterite Thin Films

Study of a Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cell Using CZTS as HTL to Achieve a 20% PCE by SCAPS-1D Simulation

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Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

Understanding defects and band tailing characteristics and their impact on the device performance of Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells