Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells.

We have investigated the impact of Cu2ZnSnS4-Molybdenum (Mo) interface quality on the performance of sputter-grown Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cell. Thin film CZTS was deposited by sputter deposition technique using stoichiometry quaternary CZTS target. Formation of molybdenum sulphide (MoSx) interfacial layer is observed in sputter grown CZTS films after sulphurization. Thickness of MoSx layer is found ~142 nm when CZTS layer (550 nm thick) is sulphurized at 600 °C. Thickness of MoSx layer significantly increased to ~240 nm in case of thicker CZTS layer (650 nm) under similar sulphurization condition. We also observe that high temperature (600 °C) annealing suppress the elemental impurities (Cu, Zn, Sn) at interfacial layer. The amount of out-diffused Mo significantly varies with the change in sulphurization temperature. The out-diffused Mo into CZTS layer and reconstructed interfacial layer remarkably decreases series resistance and increases shunt resistance of the solar cell. The overall efficiency of the solar cell is improved by nearly five times when 600 °C sulphurized CZTS layer is applied in place of 500 °C sulphurized layer. Molybdenum and sulphur diffusion reconstruct the interface layer during heat treatment and play the major role in charge carrier dynamics of a photovoltaic device.

Facet to Facet Linking of Shape Anisotropic Inorganic Nanocrystals with Site Specific and Stoichiometric Control.

Nonclassical growth mechanisms such as self-assembly and oriented attachment are effective ways to build complex nanostructures from simpler ones. In the latter case, the nanoparticle components are electronically coupled; however, control over the attachment between nanoparticles is highly challenging and generally requires a delicate balance between dipole-, ligand-, and solvent-based interactions. To this end, we perform incomplete cation exchange with Ag+ (Cu+) on CdSe-seeded CdS nanorods and tetrapods to exclusively convert their tips into small Ag2S (Cu2S) domains. Selective removal of the ligands from these inorganic domains results in spontaneous, site-specific bridging of the nanoparticles. Using this method, we demonstrate the fabrication of polymer-like linear and branched nanoparticles with enhanced electrical properties, as well as the stoichiometric formation of nanoparticle homo- and heterodimers and tetramers. We show that linked structures can then be completely cation exchanged with Pb2+ to generate PbSe/PbS-based nanostructured photodetector media with enhanced properties.

Hybrid pn-junction solar cells based on layers of inorganic nanocrystals and organic semiconductors: optimization of layer thickness by considering the width of the depletion region.

We report the formation and characterization of hybrid pn-junction solar cells based on a layer of copper diffused silver indium disulfide (AgInS2@Cu) nanoparticles and another layer of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules. With copper diffusion in the nanocrystals, their optical absorption and hence the activity of the hybrid pn-junction solar cells was extended towards the near-IR region. To decrease the particle-to-particle separation for improved carrier transport through the inorganic layer, we replaced the long-chain ligands of copper-diffused nanocrystals in each monolayer with short-ones. Under illumination, the hybrid pn-junctions yielded a higher short-circuit current as compared to the combined contribution of the Schottky junctions based on the components. A wider depletion region at the interface between the two active layers in the pn-junction device as compared to that of the Schottky junctions has been considered to analyze the results. Capacitance-voltage characteristics under a dark condition supported such a hypothesis. We also determined the width of the depletion region in the two layers separately so that a pn-junction could be formed with a tailored thickness of the two materials. Such a "fully-depleted" device resulted in an improved photovoltaic performance, primarily due to lessening of the internal resistance of the hybrid pn-junction solar cells.

Copper-diffused AgInS2 ternary nanocrystals in hybrid bulk-heterojunction solar cells: near-infrared active nanophotovoltaics.

We have grown copper-diffused AgInS2 ternary nanocrystals in order to introduce the nanoparticles in organic/inorganic bulk-heterojunction devices for photovoltaic applications. Here, copper diffuses to vacant sites and improves conductivity of the nanocrystals. Upon use of such copper-diffused nanoparticles that led to a decrease in internal resistance of sandwiched devices based on the bulk-heterojunction, there has been a marked improvement in short-circuit current under white light illumination. Due to a red-shift in the optical absorption spectrum of the nanoparticles upon copper diffusion, the devices moreover acted as near-infrared (IR) active photovoltaic solar cells. From current-voltage characteristics and impedance spectroscopy of the devices, we optimized performance of the photovoltaic devices. To do so, we have varied the content of diffused copper in AgInS2 nanoparticles and also the weight-ratio between the polymer and the nanoparticles of the hybrid bulk-heterojunction devices.

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticle based nontoxic and earth-abundant hybrid pn-junction solar cells.

A heterojunction between a layer of CZTS nanoparticles and a layer of fullerene derivatives forms a pn-junction. We have used such an inorganic-organic hybrid pn-junction device for solar cell applications. As routes to optimize device performance, interdot separation has been reduced by replacing long-chain ligands of the quantum dots with short-chain ligands and thickness of the CZTS layer has been varied. We have shown that the CZTS-fullerene interface could dissociate photogenerated excitons due to the depletion region formed at the pn-junction. From capacitance-voltage characteristics, we have determined the width of the depletion region, and compared it with the parameters of devices based on the components of the heterojunction. The results demonstrate solar cell applications based on nontoxic and earth-abundant materials.

Photoinduced electron transfer from the inorganic core to the organic shell of hybrid core-shell nanoparticles: impedance spectroscopy.

In hybrid core-shell nanoparticles with inorganic nanocrystals in the core and organic molecules in the shell, photoinduced electron transfer occurs from the core to the shell. This leads to exciton dissociation through an ultrafast electron-transfer process that results in charge separation and finally photocurrent in the external circuit in devices based on such core-shell nanoparticles. In this work, we have fabricated and characterized sandwiched devices based on a series of core-shell systems. From impedance spectroscopy, we have observed that photoinduced charge separation in core-shell systems is associated with a decrease in the device resistance and an increase in the dielectric constant of the active material. In the series of core-shell systems, we have observed a one-to-one correlation between the photoinduced electron-transfer process and the changes in resistive and dielectric parameters upon illumination.