SHORT COMMUNICATION: ACCELERATED PUBLICATION: Diode characteristics in state-of-the-art ZnO/CdS/Cu(In1?xGax)Se2 solar cells

We report a new state of the art in thin-film polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cells with the attainment of energy conversion efficiencies of 19·5%. An analysis of the performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells in terms of some absorber properties and other derived diode parameters is presented. The analysis reveals that the highest-performance cells can be associated with absorber bandgap values of ∼1·14 eV, resulting in devices with the lowest values of diode saturation current density (∼3×10−8 mA/cm2) and diode quality factors in the range 1·30 < A < 1·35. The data presented also support arguments of a reduced space charge region recombination as the reason for the improvement in the performance of such devices. In addition, a discussion is presented regarding the dependence of performance on energy bandgap, with an emphasis on wide-bandgap Cu(In,Ga)Se2 materials and views toward improving efficiency to > 1;20% in thin-film polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. Published in 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.