Chemical deposition methods for Cd-free buffer layers in CI(G)S solar cells: Role of window layers

It is currently possible to prepare Cd-free Cu(In,Ga)Se-2-based solar cells with efficiencies similar or higher than their CdS references. In these cells, higher efficiencies are generally obtained from soft chemical-based techniques giving conformal depositions such as chemical bath deposition (CBD), ion layer gas reaction (ILGAR) or atomic layer deposition (AID). However most of these devices are characterized by their pronounced transient behaviour. The aim of this paper is to compare these different chemical-based methods (CBD, AID, ILGAR...) and to try to provide evidence for the dominant influence of the interface between the Cd-free buffer layer and the window layer on the performance and on the metastable electronic behaviour of these solar cells. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.