Highly efficient narrow bandgap Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with enhanced open circuit voltage for tandem application

Junjun Zhang, Zengyang Ma, Yitian Zhang, Xinxing Liu, Ruiming Li, Qianqian Lin, Guojia Fang, Xue Zheng, Weimin Li, Chunlei Yang, Jianmin Li, Junbo Gong () and Xudong Xiao ()
Additional contact information
Junjun Zhang: Wuhan University
Zengyang Ma: Wuhan University
Yitian Zhang: Wuhan University
Xinxing Liu: Wuhan University
Ruiming Li: Wuhan University
Qianqian Lin: Wuhan University
Guojia Fang: Wuhan University
Xue Zheng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weimin Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chunlei Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianmin Li: Wuhan University
Junbo Gong: Wuhan University
Xudong Xiao: Wuhan University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Although an ideal bandgap matching with 0.96 eV and 1.62 eV for a double-junction tandem is hard to realize practically, among all mature photovoltaic systems, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) can provide the closest bandgap of 1.00 eV for the bottom sub-cell by adjusting its composition. However, pure CuInSe2 (CISe) solar cell suffers strong interfacial carrier recombination. We hereby present approaches to introduce appropriate Ga gradients in both the back and front parts of absorber while maintaining the absorption spectrum close to CISe. With an appropriate front Ga gradient, the open circuit voltage can be enhanced by ~30 mV. With a pre-deposited CIGSe layer and a high copper excess deposition during absorber growth, the Ga diffusion can be well suppressed and a wide U-shaped Ga grading with a minimum bandgap of 1.01 eV has been created. Our optimized narrow-bandgap CIGSe solar cell has achieved a certified record PCE of 20.26%, with a record-low open circuit voltage deficit of 368 mV and a record-high contribution of 10% absolute efficiency to a four-terminal tandem. This work demonstrates the potential of controlling gallium diffusion to improve the performance of narrow bandgap CIGSe solar cells for tandem applications.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54818-6 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-54818-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54818-6

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().