Assessing the roles of Cu- and Ag-deficient layers in chalcopyrite-based solar cells through first principles calculations

Chalcopyrites are a demonstrated material platform for realizing efficient thin-film photovoltaics, with the most well known Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS)-based solar cells exceeding 23%. Several factors, including flexibility in tuning the absorber bandgap, enhanced surface treatments, and the electrically benign nature of common defects are responsible for the existing high performance and future promise in chalcopyrite-based photovoltaic devices. The introduction of Cu-poor phases (also known as ordered-vacancy compounds or OVCs) between the absorber and buffer layers in CIGS solar cells is known to enhance device performance; however, the overall properties and role of OVCs remain poorly understood. Using first principles calculations based on the density functional theory with screened hybrid functionals, we explore the electronic structure and stability of OVCs and their band offsets with defect-free chalcopyrite layers in Cu- and Ag-based compounds (ABX(2) where A = Cu, Ag; B = In, Ga, Al; and X = S, Se). Using AB(3)X(5) and AB(5)X(8) stoichiometries as model OVC systems, we report on the variation of the bandgap with the A/B ratio and discuss the trends in other Cu- and Ag-based chalcopyrites beyond CuInSe2. We find that the valence and conduction bands are lower in energy in OVCs with respect to the parent ABX(2) chalcopyrite owing to a reduced p-d interaction between X and A atoms. We additionally perform device-level simulations to assess the implications of the results, finding that the valence band offsets of OVCs are favorable, while the conduction band offsets of chalcopyrites beyond CuInSe2-based absorbers may be detrimental in conventional solar cell device designs. Published under license by AIP Publishing.