Origin of defects in CuIn1-xGaxSe2 solar cells with varied Ga content

A series of CuIn1-xGaxSe2 solar cells with varied Ga content (O <= x <= 1) was prepared using a three-stage co-evaporation process. The grain sizes of these devices vary with gallium content, exhibiting a maximum for approximately x=0.2, which does not coincide with the maximum of the solar conversion efficiency observed between 0.34<0.37 for these devices. Admittance spectroscopy and drive-level capacitance profiling measurements were performed yielding a defect level with an activation energy of E-a=0.1 eV which is independent of the amount of Ga and the grain size respectively. This defect closely resembles the N1 defect level reported in the literature. Only for relatively high Ga contents (x>0.7) an additional defect appears. An equivalent circuit model describing a parallel connection of bulk and grain boundary capacitors allows us to conclude that the detected shallow defect is not predominantly located at the grain boundaries. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.