Title :
Interfaces in thin film solar cells
Author :
Klein, Andreas ; Jaegermann, W. ; Hunger, Ralf ; Kraft, Daniel ; Sauberlich, F. ; Schulmeyer, T. ; Spath, B.
Author_Institution :
Surface Sci. Div., Darmstadt Technol. Univ., Germany
Abstract :
Interfaces are important for the efficiencies of thin film solar cells. In particular, for polycrystalline chalcogenide semiconductors as CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGS) the existing physical concepts, which describe the electronic properties of elemental or III-V compound semiconductor interfaces quite well, are not sufficient. The increased complexity is mostly due to the non-abruptness of the interfaces and the strong tendency for the formation of defects in the more polar bonded II-VI compounds. Photoelectron spectroscopy has significantly contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms governing the properties of semiconductor interfaces in thin film solar cells. The experimental approach using integrated surface analysis and thin film deposition systems and selected results will be presented.
Keywords :
II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; copper compounds; crystal defects; gallium compounds; indium compounds; interface structure; photoelectron spectra; semiconductor thin films; solar cells; ternary semiconductors; CdTe; Cu(InGa)(SSe)2; III-V compound semiconductor interfaces; defect formation; electronic properties; integrated surface analysis; photoelectron spectroscopy; polar bonded II-VI compounds; polycrystalline chalcogenide semiconductors; thin film deposition system; thin film solar cell interfaces; Bonding; Glass; Heterojunctions; Materials science and technology; Photovoltaic cells; Semiconductor materials; Semiconductor thin films; Spectroscopy; Substrates; Transistors;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8707-4
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2005.1488105
