Surface photovoltage measurements: a useful tool for the detection of electron injection processes in extremely thin absorber (ETA) solar cells

The applicability of surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements for the detection of charge carrier injection processes at extremely thin absorber (ETA) interfaces was investigated. Interfaces of the ETA absorber PbS on nanocrystalline (nc-) TiO2 and ZrO2 were studied in comparison with dye-sensitized interfaces of the same oxides (which served as reference interfaces, since the charge transfer processes at these interfaces have been extensively studied and are therefore quite well understood).We found that SPV-measurements can indeed be used for the detection of electron injection. This allows the qualitative observation of photoeffects at ETA-interfaces without the need of constructing complete solar cell devices.