Improving the Device Performance of CZTSSe Thin-Film Solar Cells via Indium Doping

Sumit D Korade; Kuldeep Singh Gour; Vijay C Karade; Jun Sung Jang; Muhammad Rehan; Satyajeet S Patil; Tejasvinee S Bhat; Akhilesh P Patil; Jae Ho Yun; Jongsung Park; Jin Hyeok Kim; Pramod S Patil

doi:10.1021/acsami.3c13813

Improving the Device Performance of CZTSSe Thin-Film Solar Cells via Indium Doping

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Dec 4. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c13813. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sumit D Korade^{1

2

3}, Kuldeep Singh Gour⁴, Vijay C Karade⁵, Jun Sung Jang², Muhammad Rehan⁶, Satyajeet S Patil¹, Tejasvinee S Bhat⁷, Akhilesh P Patil⁷, Jae Ho Yun⁵, Jongsung Park⁸, Jin Hyeok Kim², Pramod S Patil¹

Affiliations

¹ Thin Film Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, Maharashtra, India.
² Optoelectronics Convergence Research Center and Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Physics, Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya, Wai 412803, Maharashtra, India.
⁴ Surface Engineering Group, Advanced Materials & Processes Division, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur 831007, Jharkhand, India.
⁵ Department of Energy Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), Naju, Jeonnam 58217, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Photovoltaics Research Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), 152-Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Republic of Korea.
⁷ School of Nanoscience and Biotechnology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, Maharashtra, India.
⁸ Department of Energy Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam 52849, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 38047907
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c13813

Abstract

Cation incorporation emerges as a promising approach for improving the performance of the kesterite Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) device. Herein, we report indium (In) doping using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique to enhance the optoelectronic properties of CZTSSe thin-film solar cells (TFSCs). To incorporate a small amount of the In element into the CZTSSe absorber thin films, an ultrathin (<10 nm) layer of In₂S₃ is deposited on soft-annealed precursor (Zn-Sn-Cu) thin films prior to the sulfo-selenization process. The successful doping of In improved crystal growth and promoted the formation of larger grains. Furthermore, the CZTSSe TFSCs fabricated with In doping exhibited improved device performance. In particular, the In-CZTSSe-2-based device showed an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.53%, open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 486 mV, and fill factor (FF) of 61% compared to the undoped device. Moreover, the small amount of In incorporated into the CZTSSe absorber demonstrated reduced nonradiative recombination, improved carrier separation, and enhanced carrier transport properties. This study suggests a simple and effective way to incorporate In to achieve high efficiency and low V_oc loss.

Keywords: CZTSSe; doping; efficiency; indium; solar cells; thin films.