Passivation of the CuInSe2 surface via cadmium pre-electrolyte treatment

in Physical Review Materials (2020)

Deliberate and Accidental Gas-Phase Alkali Doping of Chalcogenide Semiconductors: Cu(In,Ga)Se2

in Scientific Reports (2017), 7

Alkali metal doping is essential to achieve highly efficient energy conversion in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) solar cells. Doping is normally achieved through solid state reactions, but recent observations of ... [more ▼]

Alkali metal doping is essential to achieve highly efficient energy conversion in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) solar cells. Doping is normally achieved through solid state reactions, but recent observations of gas phase alkali transport in the kesterite sulfide (Cu2ZnSnS4) system (re)open the way to a novel gas-phase doping strategy. However, the current understanding of gas-phase alkali transport is very limited. This work (i) shows that CIGSe device efficiency can be improved from 2% to 8% by gas-phase sodium incorporation alone, (ii) identifies the most likely routes for gas-phase alkali transport based on mass spectrometric studies, (iii) provides thermochemical computations to rationalize the observations and (iv) critically discusses the subject literature with the aim to better understand the chemical basis of the phenomenon. These results suggest that accidental alkali metal doping occurs all the time, that a controlled vapor pressure of alkali metal could be applied during growth to dope the semiconductor, and that it may have to be accounted for during the currently used solid state doping routes. It is concluded that alkali gas-phase transport occurs through a plurality of routes and cannot be attributed to one single source. [less ▲]

Composition dependent characterization of copper indium diselenide thin film solar cells synthesized from electrodeposited binary selenide precursor stacks

in Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells (2014), 126

Direct Synthesis of Single-Phase p‑Type SnS by Electrodeposition from a Dicyanamide Ionic Liquid at High Temperature for Thin Film Solar Cells

in The Journal of Physical Chemistry (2013)