Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films

A. Elizabeth, H. Conradi, S. K. Sahoo, T. Kodalle, C. A. Kaufmann, T. Kühne, H. Mirhosseini, D. Abou-Ras, H. Mönig, Acta Materialia 200 (2020).

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Journal Article | English
Author
Elizabeth, Amala; Conradi, Hauke; K. Sahoo, Sudhir; Kodalle, Tim; A. Kaufmann, Christian; Kühne, ThomasLibreCat; Mirhosseini, HosseinLibreCat ; Abou-Ras, Daniel; Mönig, Harry
Abstract
Individual grains of chalcopyrite solar cell absorbers can facet in different crystallographic directions at their surfaces. To gain a deeper understanding of the junction formation in these devices, we correlate variations in the surface facet orientation with the defect electronic properties. We use a combined analytical approach based on scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), scanning electron microscopy, and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD), where we perform these experiments on identical surface areas as small as 2 × 2 µm2 with a lateral resolution well below 50 nm. The topography of the absorber surfaces indicates two main morphological features: micro-faceted, long basalt-like columns and their short nano-faceted terminations. Our STS results reveal that the long columns exhibit spectral signatures typical for the presence of pronounced oxidation-induced surface dipoles in conjunction with an increased density of electronic defect levels. In contrast, the nano-faceted terminations of the basalt-like columns are largely passivated in terms of electronic defect levels within the band gap region. Corresponding crystallographic data based on EBSD experiments show that the surface of the basalt-like columns can be assigned to intrinsically polar facet orientations, while the passivated terminations are assigned to non-polar planes. Ab-initio calculations suggest that the polar surfaces are more prone to oxidation and resulting O-induced defects, in comparison to non-polar planes. Our results emphasize the correlation between morphology, surface facet orientations and surface electronic properties. Furthermore, this work aids in gaining a fundamental understanding of oxidation induced lateral inhomogeneities in view of the p-n junction formation in chalcopyrite thin-film solar cells.
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Journal Title
Acta Materialia
Volume
200
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Elizabeth A, Conradi H, K. Sahoo S, et al. Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films. Acta Materialia. 2020;200. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028
Elizabeth, A., Conradi, H., K. Sahoo, S., Kodalle, T., A. Kaufmann, C., Kühne, T., … Mönig, H. (2020). Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films. Acta Materialia, 200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028
@article{Elizabeth_Conradi_K. Sahoo_Kodalle_A. Kaufmann_Kühne_Mirhosseini_Abou-Ras_Mönig_2020, title={Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films}, volume={200}, DOI={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028}, journal={Acta Materialia}, author={Elizabeth, Amala and Conradi, Hauke and K. Sahoo, Sudhir and Kodalle, Tim and A. Kaufmann, Christian and Kühne, Thomas and Mirhosseini, Hossein and Abou-Ras, Daniel and Mönig, Harry}, year={2020} }
Elizabeth, Amala, Hauke Conradi, Sudhir K. Sahoo, Tim Kodalle, Christian A. Kaufmann, Thomas Kühne, Hossein Mirhosseini, Daniel Abou-Ras, and Harry Mönig. “Correlating Facet Orientation, Defect-Level Density and Dipole Layer Formation at the Surface of Polycrystalline CuInSe2 Thin Films.” Acta Materialia 200 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028.
A. Elizabeth et al., “Correlating facet orientation, defect-level density and dipole layer formation at the surface of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films,” Acta Materialia, vol. 200, 2020.
Elizabeth, Amala, et al. “Correlating Facet Orientation, Defect-Level Density and Dipole Layer Formation at the Surface of Polycrystalline CuInSe2 Thin Films.” Acta Materialia, vol. 200, 2020, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.09.028.

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