Lattice-matched Cu2ZnSnS4/CeO2 solar cell with open circuit voltage boost

We report a reproducible enhancement of the open circuit voltage in Cu2ZnSnS4solar cells by introduction of a very thin CeO2 interlayer between the Cu2ZnSnS4 absorber and the conventionalCdS buffer. CeO2, a non-toxic earth-abundant compound, has a nearly optimal band alignment with Cu2ZnSnS4 and the two materials are lattice-matched within 0.4%. This makes it possible to achieve anepitaxial interface whengrowing CeO2 by chemical bathdeposition at temperatures as low as 50  °C. The open circuit voltage improvement is then attributed to a decrease in the interface recombination rate through formation of a high-quality heterointerface.

Source: Applied Physics Letters - December 6, 2016 Category: Physics Authors: Andrea Crovetto, Chang Yan, Beniamino Iandolo, Fangzhou Zhou, John Stride, J ørgen Schou, Xiaojing Hao and Ole Hansen Source Type: research