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Li H, Yang G, Hu X, Hu Y, Zeng R, Cai J, Yao L, Lin L, Cai L, Chen G. Sputtering of Molybdenum as a Promising Back Electrode Candidate for Superstrate Structured Sb 2 S 3 Solar Cells. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2303414. [PMID: 37668266 PMCID: PMC10602520 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202303414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Sb2 S3 is rapidly developed as light absorber material for solar cells due to its excellent photoelectric properties. However, the use of the organic hole transport layer of Spiro-OMeTAD and gold (Au) in Sb2 S3 solar cells imposes serious problems in stability and cost. In this work, low-cost molybdenum (Mo) prepared by magnetron sputtering is demonstrated to serve as a back electrode in superstrate structured Sb2 S3 solar cells for the first time. And a multifunctional layer of Se is inserted between Sb2 S3 /Mo interface by evaporation, which plays vital roles as: i) soft loading of high-energy Mo particles with the help of cottonlike-Se layer; ii) formation of surficial Sb2 Se3 on Sb2 S3 layer, and then reducing hole transportation barrier. To further alleviate the roll-over effect, a pre-selenide Mo target and consequentially form a MoSe2 is skillfully sputtered, which is expected to manipulate the band alignment and render an enhanced holes extraction. Impressively, the device with an optimized Mo electrode achieves an efficiency of 5.1%, which is one of the highest values among non-noble metal electrode based Sb2 S3 solar cells. This work sheds light on the potential development of low-cost metal electrodes for superstrate Sb2 S3 devices by carefully designing the back contact interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hu Li
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Guo‐Qin Yang
- State Grid Dehua County Electric Power Supply CompanyQuanzhou362500China
| | - Xiao‐Yang Hu
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Yi‐Hua Hu
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Rui‐Bo Zeng
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Jin‐Rui Cai
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Li‐Quan Yao
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Li‐Mei Lin
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
| | - Li‐Ping Cai
- College of Computer and Cyber SecurityFuzhou350117China
| | - Guilin Chen
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Solar Energy Conversion and Energy StorageCollege of Physics and EnergyFujian Normal UniversityFuzhou350117China
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2
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Dong J, Liu Y, Wang Z, Zhang Y. Boosting V
OC
of antimony chalcogenide solar cells: A review on interfaces and defects. NANO SELECT 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/nano.202000288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jiabin Dong
- Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology Nankai University Tianjin China
| | - Yue Liu
- Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology Nankai University Tianjin China
| | - Zuoyun Wang
- Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology Nankai University Tianjin China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Thin Film Devices and Technology Nankai University Tianjin China
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3
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Büttner P, Scheler F, Pointer C, Döhler D, Yokosawa T, Spiecker E, Boix PP, Young ER, Mínguez-Bacho I, Bachmann J. ZnS Ultrathin Interfacial Layers for Optimizing Carrier Management in Sb 2S 3-based Photovoltaics. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:11861-11868. [PMID: 33667064 PMCID: PMC7975279 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c21365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Antimony chalcogenides represent a family of materials of low toxicity and relative abundance, with a high potential for future sustainable solar energy conversion technology. However, solar cells based on antimony chalcogenides present open-circuit voltage losses that limit their efficiencies. These losses are attributed to several recombination mechanisms, with interfacial recombination being considered as one of the dominant processes. In this work, we exploit atomic layer deposition (ALD) to grow a series of ultrathin ZnS interfacial layers at the TiO2/Sb2S3 interface to mitigate interfacial recombination and to increase the carrier lifetime. ALD allows for very accurate control over the ZnS interlayer thickness on the ångström scale (0-1.5 nm) and to deposit highly pure Sb2S3. Our systematic study of the photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties of these devices by impedance spectroscopy and transient absorption concludes that the optimum ZnS interlayer thickness of 1.0 nm achieves the best balance between the beneficial effect of an increased recombination resistance at the interface and the deleterious barrier behavior of the wide-bandgap semiconductor ZnS. This optimization allows us to reach an overall power conversion efficiency of 5.09% in planar configuration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Büttner
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy,
IZNF, Cauerstraße
3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Florian Scheler
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy,
IZNF, Cauerstraße
3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Universidad
de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales, Catedrático J. Beltrán
2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Craig Pointer
- Lehigh
University, Department of Chemistry, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Dirk Döhler
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy,
IZNF, Cauerstraße
3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tadahiro Yokosawa
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute
of Micro- and Nanostructure Research, and Center for Nanoanalysis
and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), IZNF, Cauerstraße 3, Erlangen, 91058 Germany
| | - Erdmann Spiecker
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute
of Micro- and Nanostructure Research, and Center for Nanoanalysis
and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), IZNF, Cauerstraße 3, Erlangen, 91058 Germany
| | - Pablo P. Boix
- Universidad
de Valencia, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales, Catedrático J. Beltrán
2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Elizabeth R. Young
- Lehigh
University, Department of Chemistry, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Ignacio Mínguez-Bacho
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy,
IZNF, Cauerstraße
3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Julien Bachmann
- Friedrich-Alexander
University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy,
IZNF, Cauerstraße
3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
- Saint-Petersburg
State University, Institute of Chemistry, Universitetskii Prospekt 26, 198504 Saint Petersburg, Russia
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4
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Büttner P, Scheler F, Pointer C, Döhler D, Barr MK, Koroleva A, Pankin D, Hatada R, Flege S, Manshina A, Young ER, Mínguez-Bacho I, Bachmann J. Adjusting Interfacial Chemistry and Electronic Properties of Photovoltaics Based on a Highly Pure Sb 2S 3 Absorber by Atomic Layer Deposition. ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS 2019; 2:8747-8756. [PMID: 31894204 PMCID: PMC6931240 DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.9b01721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The combination of oxide and heavier chalcogenide layers in thin film photovoltaics suffers limitations associated with oxygen incorporation and sulfur deficiency in the chalcogenide layer or with a chemical incompatibility which results in dewetting issues and defect states at the interface. Here, we establish atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a tool to overcome these limitations. ALD allows one to obtain highly pure Sb2S3 light absorber layers, and we exploit this technique to generate an additional interfacial layer consisting of 1.5 nm ZnS. This ultrathin layer simultaneously resolves dewetting and passivates defect states at the interface. We demonstrate via transient absorption spectroscopy that interfacial electron recombination is one order of magnitude slower at the ZnS-engineered interface than hole recombination at the Sb2S3/P3HT interface. The comparison of solar cells with and without oxide incorporation in Sb2S3, with and without the ultrathin ZnS interlayer, and with systematically varied Sb2S3 thickness provides a complete picture of the physical processes at work in the devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Büttner
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Florian Scheler
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Craig Pointer
- Department of Chemistry, Lehigh
University, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Dirk Döhler
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Maïssa K.
S. Barr
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
| | - Aleksandra Koroleva
- Centre for Physical Methods of Surface
Investigation, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 198504, Russia
| | - Dmitrii Pankin
- Centre for Optical and Laser Materials
Research, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
| | - Ruriko Hatada
- Materials Analysis, Department of Materials
Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Str. 2, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - Stefan Flege
- Materials Analysis, Department of Materials
Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Str. 2, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - Alina Manshina
- Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg
State University, Universitetskii
pr. 26, St. Petersburg 198504, Russia
| | - Elizabeth R. Young
- Department of Chemistry, Lehigh
University, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
- E-mail:
| | - Ignacio Mínguez-Bacho
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
- E-mail:
| | - Julien Bachmann
- Chemistry of Thin
Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Cauerstr. 3, Erlangen 91058, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg
State University, Universitetskii
pr. 26, St. Petersburg 198504, Russia
- E-mail:
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