Records |
Author |
Bekaert, J.; Saniz, R.; Partoens, B.; Lamoen, D. |
Title |
First-principles study of carbon impurities in CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2, present in non-vacuum synthesis methods |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
Year |
2015 |
Publication |
Journal of applied physics |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Appl Phys |
Volume |
117 |
Issue |
117 |
Pages |
015104 |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Condensed Matter Theory (CMT) |
Abstract |
A first-principles study of the structural and electronic properties of carbon impurities in CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 is presented. Carbon is present in organic molecules in the precursor solutions used in non-vacuum growth methods for CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 based photovoltaic cells. These growth methods make more efficient use of material, time, and energy than traditional vacuum methods. The formation energies of several carbon impurities are calculated using the hybrid HSE06 functional. C Cu acts as a shallow donor, CIn and interstitial C yield deep donor levels in CuInSe2, while in CuGaSe2 CGa and interstitial C act as deep amphoteric defects. So, these defects reduce the majority carrier (hole) concentration in p-type CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 by compensating the acceptor levels. The deep defects are likely to act as recombination centers for the photogenerated charge carriers and are thus detrimental for the performance of the photovoltaic cells. On the other hand, the formation energies of the carbon impurities are high, even under C-rich growth conditions. Thus, few C impurities will form in CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 in thermodynamic equilibrium. However, the deposition of the precursor solution in non-vacuum growth methods presents conditions far from thermodynamic equilibrium. In this case, our calculations show that C impurities formed in non-equilibrium tend to segregate from CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 by approaching thermodynamic equilibrium, e.g., via thorough annealing. |
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
American Institute of Physics |
Place of Publication |
New York, N.Y. |
Editor |
|
Language |
|
Wos |
000347958600055 |
Publication Date |
2015-01-07 |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0021-8979;1089-7550; |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
Impact Factor |
2.068 |
Times cited |
6 |
Open Access |
|
Notes |
FWO G015013; Hercules |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 2.068; 2015 IF: 2.183 |
Call Number |
c:irua:122064 |
Serial |
1215 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Bekaert, J.; Saniz, R.; Partoens, B.; Lamoen, D. |
Title |
Native point defects in CuIn1-xGaxSe2 : hybrid density functional calculations predict the origin of p- and n-type conductivity |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Physical chemistry, chemical physics |
Abbreviated Journal |
Phys Chem Chem Phys |
Volume |
16 |
Issue |
40 |
Pages |
22299-22308 |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Condensed Matter Theory (CMT) |
Abstract |
We have performed a first-principles study of the p- and n-type conductivity in CuIn1−xGaxSe2 due to native point defects, based on the HSE06 hybrid functional. Band alignment shows that the band gap becomes larger with x due to the increasing conduction band minimum, rendering it hard to establish n-type conductivity in CuGaSe2. From the defect formation energies, we find that In/GaCu is a shallow donor, while VCu, VIn/Ga and CuIn/Ga act as shallow acceptors. Using the total charge neutrality of ionized defects and intrinsic charge carriers to determine the Fermi level, we show that under In-rich growth conditions InCu causes strongly n-type conductivity in CuInSe2. Under increasingly In-poor growth conditions, the conductivity type in CuInSe2 alters to p-type and compensation of the acceptors by InCu reduces, as also observed in photoluminescence experiments. In CuGaSe2, the native acceptors pin the Fermi level far away from the conduction band minimum, thus inhibiting n-type conductivity. On the other hand, CuGaSe2 shows strong p-type conductivity under a wide range of Ga-poor growth conditions. Maximal p-type conductivity in CuIn1−xGaxSe2 is reached under In/Ga-poor growth conditions, in agreement with charge concentration measurements on samples with In/Ga-poor stoichiometry, and is primarily due to the dominant acceptor CuIn/Ga. |
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
Cambridge |
Editor |
|
Language |
|
Wos |
000343072800042 |
Publication Date |
2014-09-05 |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
1463-9076;1463-9084; |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
Impact Factor |
4.123 |
Times cited |
43 |
Open Access |
|
Notes |
; We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the science fund FWO-Flanders through project G.0150.13. The first-principles calculations have been carried out on the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp (CalcUA), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre (VSC), supported financially by the Hercules foundation and the Flemish Government (EWI Department). We also like to thank Prof. S. Siebentritt of the University of Luxembourg for a presentation of her work on GIGS during a visit to our research group and for helpful discussions of our results. ; |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 4.123; 2014 IF: 4.493 |
Call Number |
UA @ lucian @ c:irua:120465 |
Serial |
2284 |
Permanent link to this record |