Analysis of Failure Modes in Kesterite Solar Cells

Intense research has been carried out in the past few years to improve efficiencies and understand limitations in kesterite-based solar cells. Despite notable efforts to determine and list the different failure modes affecting the photovoltaic properties of these devices, very few works have tried to quantify and classify the effects of these failure modes. In this study, an exhaustive literature review has first been conducted to determine the different causes leading to limited efficiencies in kesterite devices, with an additional focus on cadmium-free and critical raw material-free devices. Second, an original approach has been employed to quantify the impact of these failure modes on solar cells, based on the evaluation of feedback from 18 scientific experts working on kesterite technology. The result of this survey is analyzed, which allows us to determine what should be the research priority for the community to improve efficiencies and drive kesterite technology to the market.