A Two-Step Absorber Deposition Approach To Overcome Shunt Losses in Thin-Film Solar Cells: Using Tin Sulfide as a Proof-of-Concept Material System

作者：Steinmann Vera^*; Chakraborty Rupak; Rekemeyer Paul H; Hartman Katy; Brandt Riley E; Polizzotti Alex; Yang Chuanxi; Moriarty Tom; Gradecak Silvija; Gordon Roy G; Buonassisi Tonio

来源：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016, 8(34): 22664-22670.

DOI：10.1021/acsami.6b07198

• thin-films
• photovoltaics
• novel absorber materials
• tin sulfide
• device shunting
• performance reliability

As novel absorber materials are developed and screened for their photovoltaic (PV) properties, the challenge remains to reproducibly test promising candidates for high-performing PV devices. Many early-stage devices are prone to device shunting due to pinholes in the absorber layer, producing "false-negative" results. Here, we demonstrate a device engineering solution toward a robust device architecture, using a two-step absorber deposition approach. We use tin sulfide (SnS) as a test absorber material. The SnS bulk is processed at high temperature (400 degrees C) to stimulate grain growth, followed by a much thinner, low-temperature (200 degrees C) absorber deposition. At a lower process temperature, the thin absorber overlayer contains significantly smaller, densely packed grains, which are likely to provide a continuous coating and fill pinholes in the underlying absorber bulk. We compare this two-step approach to the more standard approach of using a semi-insulating buffer layer directly on top of the annealed absorber bulk, and we demonstrate a more than 3.5X superior shunt resistance R-sh with smaller standard error sigma(Rsh). Electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) measurements indicate a lower density of pinholes in the SnS absorber bulk when using the two-step absorber deposition approach. We correlate those findings to improvements in the device performance and device performance reproducibility.

• 出版日期2016-8-31