Impact of Cu-rich growth on the CuIn1−xGaxSe2 surface morphology and related solar cells behaviour

The amount of copper excess provided during the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) 3-stage co-evaporation process is among the most operator subjective. In the present paper the influence of this parameter on the properties of the CIGSe films as well as on the behaviour of the related solar cells is investigated. It is observed that both the In/Ga lateral intermixing and the grain size are enhanced when the excess of copper is increased. Contrary to what could be expected, these changes only weakly affect the performance of the solar cells. Increasing the copper excess also yields a rougher CIGSe morphology. This latter evolution is observed to be the most important factor influencing the device behaviour. Through accurate analysis of quantum efficiency, it is concluded that, in the case of the standard cell structure, there exists a threshold in copper excess, beyond which the cell performance is significantly reduced.