Abstract
The doping of Cu2ZnSnSe4 semiconductor with Ge element has demonstrated improvements to kesterite solar cell efficiency. However, the impact of different Cu concentrations on Cu2ZnSnGeSe4/CdS solar cell performance has been poorly studied. In this work, Cu2ZnSnGeSe4 thin films with different Cu contents were synthesized by selenization of sequential thermal evaporation precursors. Solar cells based on kesterite-type Cu2ZnSnGeSe4 (CZTGSe) were fabricated and the influence of the Cu thickness on the chemical composition and morphology of the layers and electro-optical properties of solar cells was studied. The stacking process was performed at room substrate temperature. Efficiency values in the range of 2.0–6.8% are reported as a function of Cu concentration. The highest efficiency of 6.8%, was achieved for solar cell with glass/Mo/CZTGSe/CdS/i-ZnO/ITO structure using the stacking of Cu (3 nm)/Sn (248 nm)/Cu (112 nm)/Zn (174 nm)/Ge (20 nm).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Y.S. Lee, T. Gershon, O. Gunawan, T.K. Todorov, T. Gokmen, Y. Virgus, S. Guha, Adv. Energy Mater. 5, 1401372 (2014)
H. Hiroi, N. Sakai, T. Kato, H. Sugimoto, IEEE 39th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), (2013), p. 0863
X. Hao, K. Sun, C. Yan, F. Liu, J. Huang, A. Pu, M. Green, IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), (2016), p. 2164
S. Bag, O. Gunawan, T. Gokmen, Y. Zhu, D.B. Mitzi, Chem. Mater. 24, 4588 (2012)
K. Biswas, S. Lany, A. Zunger, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 201902 (2010)
Q. Guo, G.M. Ford, W.C. Yang, C.J. Hages, H.W. Hillhouse, R. Agrawal, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells. 105, 132 (2012)
C.J. Hages, S. Levcenco, C.K. Miskin, J.H. Alsmeier, D. Abou-Ras, R.G. Wilks, M. Bär, T. Unold, R. Agrawa, Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 23, 376 (2015)
C.J. Hages, S. Levcenco, C.K. Miskin, J.H. Alsmeier, D. .Abou-Ras, R.G. Wilks, M. Bär, T. Unold, R. Agrawal, Prog. Photovolt. 23, 376 (2013)
S. Giraldo, M. Neuschitzer, T. Thersleff, S. López-Marino, Y. Sánchez, H. Xie, M. Colina, M. Placidi, P. Pistor, V. Izquierdo-Roca, K. Leifer, A. Pérez-Rodríguez, E. Saucedo, Adv. Energy Mater. 5(21), 1501070 (2015)
I. Repins, C. Beall, N. Vora, C. DeHart, D. Kuciauskas, P. Dippo, B. To, J. Mann, W.-C. Hsu, A. Goodrich, R. Noufi, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells. 101, 154 (2012)
K. Wang, O. Gunawan, T. Todorov, B. Shin, S.J. Chey, N.A. Bojarczuk, D. Mitzi, S. Guha, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 143508 (2010)
B. Shin, K. Wang, O. Gunawan, K.B. Reuter, S.J. Chey, N.A. Bojarczuk, T. Todorov, D.B. Mitzi, S. Guha, 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), (2011), p. 002510
R. Moreno, A. Leguizamon, M. Hurtado, F. Guzmán, G. Gordillo, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 480, 012007 (2014)
G. Suresh Babu, Y.B. Kishore Kumar, P. Uday Bhaskar, V. Sundara Raja, Sol Energy Mater. Sol Cells 94, 221–226 (2010)
J. He, J. Tao, X. Meng, Yu Dong, K. Zhang, L. Sun, P. Yang, J. Chu, Mater. Lett. 126, 1–4 (2014)
Y. Liu, D.-Y. Kong, H. You, C. Chen, X.H. Lin, J. Brugger, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 24(2), 529–535 (2013)
S. Lopez-Marino, M. Placidi, A. Perez-Tomas, J. Llobet, V. Izquierdo-Roca, X. Fontane, A. Fairbrother, M. Espindola-Rodriguez, D. Sylla, A. Perez-Rodriguez, E. Saucedo, J. Mater. Chem. A 1, 8338 (2013)
A. Fairbrother, X. Fontané, V. Izquierdo-Roca, M. Placidi, D. Sylla, M. Espindola-Rodriguez, S. López-Mariño, F.A. Pulgarín, O. Vigil-Galán, A. Pérez-Rodríguez, E. Saucedo, Prog. Photovoltaics Res. Appl. 22, 479–487 (2014)
H. Katagiri, K. Jimbo, M. Tahara, H. Araki, K. Oishi, The influence of the composition ratio on CZTS-based thin film solar cells. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, vol. 1165 (2009), pp. M01–M04
O. Vigil-Galán, M. Espíndola-Rodríguez, M. Courel, X. Fontané, D. Sylla, V. Izquierdo-Roca, A. Fairbrother, E. Saucedo, A. Pérez-Rodríguez, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 117, 246–250 (2013)
S. Bag, O. Gunawan, T. Gokmen, Y. Zhu, D.B. Mitzi, Chem. Mater. 24(23), 4588 (2012)
A. Ayeshamariam, M. Kashif, S. Muthuraja, S. Jagadeswari, D. Saravanankumar, N.M.I. Alhaji, A.Uduman Mohideen, M. Bououdina, M. Jayachandran, Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Adv. Eng. 4(5), 584 (2014)
S. Chen, A. Walsh, X.-G. Gong, S.-H. Wei, Adv. Mater. 25, 1522 (2013)
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by SIP of IPN. We thank the collaboration of István González in the technical support of the preparation and characterization of thin films and devices. O. Vigil-Galán acknowledges support from COFAA and EDI of IPN.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pulgarín-Agudelo, F.A., Vigil-Galán, O., Andrade-Arvizu, J.A. et al. Cu content dependence of Cu2Zn(SnGe)Se4 solar cells prepared by using sequential thermal evaporation technique of Cu/Sn/Cu/Zn/Ge stacked layers. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 15363–15368 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8915-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8915-5