Compositional and electrical properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin films for solar cells - a review

The present review gives an overview of the various reports on properties of line and planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ thin films for high-efficiency solar cells. We report results from various analysis techniques applied to characterize these defects at different length scales, which allow for drawing a consistent picture on structural and electronic defect properties. A key finding is atomic reconstruction detected at line and planar defects, which may be one mechanism to reduce excess charge densities and to relax deep-defect states from midgap to shallow energy levels. On the other hand, nonradiative Shockley-Read-Hall recombination is still enhanced with respect to defect-free grain interiors, which is correlated with substantial reduction of luminescence intensities. Comparison of the microscopic electrical properties of planar defects in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ thin films with two-dimensional device simulations suggest that these defects are one origin of the reduced open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic devices.