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Chalcopyrite/Si Heterojunctions for Photovoltaic Applications

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Abstract

Films of CuInSe2 (CIS) and CuGaSe2 (CGS) were deposited on (100) Si by radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering from stoichiometric CIS and CGS targets. Rutherford backscattering (RBS) analysis yielded a composition of Cu0.8In1.1Se1.9 for CuInSe2, which indicates that these films were Cu and Se poor. A composition of Cu0.3Ga1.5Se2.0 for CuGaSe2 shows Ga-rich and Cu-poor layers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of cross-sectional samples established that the films were polycrystalline in nature and free of pinhole defects that normally short-circuit devices fabricated on glass with submicron absorber layers. From the electron and x-ray diffraction patterns, tetragonal chalcopyrite phases of the material were identified. Circular diodes, with a diameter between 100 μm and 400 μm, were fabricated on the grown films with a common Au back-contact. Diodes on both CIS and CGS films exhibited rectifying characteristics. From the polarity corresponding to the high and low currents, it was inferred that the grown films were p-type. These diodes exhibited photovoltaic response, and the forward-bias current increased by as much as two orders of magnitude when illuminated by a 75-W halogen lamp. The open-circuit voltages (V OC) for these devices are expected to approach the turn-on voltage of the diodes, 0.5 V and 0.7 V, for the CGS/Si and the CIS/Si heterojunctions, respectively. Shunting caused by degenerate phases present in the CGS film is believed to have resulted in the observed lower turn-on voltage for the CGS/n-Si heterojunction diode.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tuskegee Center for Advanced Materials, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, 36088, USA

    O. Akpa

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, 36088, USA

    S. Shoieb, T. Thompson & K. Das

  3. Space Research Institute, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36830, USA

    T. Isaacs-Smith

  4. Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    P. Anderson & S. Seraphin

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  1. O. Akpa
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  2. S. Shoieb
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  3. T. Thompson
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  4. T. Isaacs-Smith
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  5. P. Anderson
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  6. S. Seraphin
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  7. K. Das
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Correspondence to O. Akpa.

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Akpa, O., Shoieb, S., Thompson, T. et al. Chalcopyrite/Si Heterojunctions for Photovoltaic Applications. J. Electron. Mater. 39, 2462–2466 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1365-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1365-3

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