Advanced Characterization Techniques for Thin Film Solar Cells -  - E-Book

Advanced Characterization Techniques for Thin Film Solar Cells E-Book

0,0
108,99 €

-100%
Sammeln Sie Punkte in unserem Gutscheinprogramm und kaufen Sie E-Books und Hörbücher mit bis zu 100% Rabatt.
Mehr erfahren.
Beschreibung

Written by scientists from leading institutes in Germany, USA and Spain who use these techniques as the core of their scientific work and who have a precise idea of what is relevant for photovoltaic devices, this text contains concise and comprehensive lecture-like chapters on specific research methods. They focus on emerging, specialized techniques that are new to the field of photovoltaics yet have a proven relevance. However, since new methods need to be judged according to their implications for photovoltaic devices, a clear introductory chapter describes the basic physics of thin-film solar cells and modules, providing a guide to the specific advantages that are offered by each individual method. The choice of subjects is a representative cross-section of those methods enjoying a high degree of visibility in recent scientific literature. Furthermore, they deal with specific device-related topics and include a selection of material and surface/interface analysis methods that have recently proven their relevance. Finally, simulation techniques are presented that are used for ab-initio calculations of relevant semiconductors and for device simulations in 1D and 2D. For students in physics, solid state physicists, materials scientists, PhD students in material sciences, materials institutes, semiconductor physicists, and those working in the semiconductor industry, as well as being suitable as supplementary reading in related courses.

Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:

Android
iOS
von Legimi
zertifizierten E-Readern

Seitenzahl: 1061

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Bewertungen
0,0
0
0
0
0
0
Mehr Informationen
Mehr Informationen
Legimi prüft nicht, ob Rezensionen von Nutzern stammen, die den betreffenden Titel tatsächlich gekauft oder gelesen/gehört haben. Wir entfernen aber gefälschte Rezensionen.



Contents

Cover

Related Titles

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

List of Contributors

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Part One: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction to Thin-Film Photovoltaics

1.1 Introduction

1.2 The Photovoltaic Principle

1.3 Functional Layers in Thin-Film Solar Cells

1.4 Comparison of Various Thin-Film Solar-Cell Types

1.5 Conclusions

References

Part Two: Device Characterization

Chapter 2: Fundamental Electrical Characterization of Thin-Film Solar Cells

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Current/Voltage Curves

2.3 Quantum Efficiency Measurements

References

Chapter 3: Electroluminescence Analysis of Solar Cells and Solar Modules

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Basics

3.3 Spectrally Resolved Electroluminescence

3.4 Spatially Resolved Electroluminescence of c-Si Solar Cells

3.5 Electroluminescence Imaging of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin-Film Modules

3.6 Modeling of Spatially Resolved Electroluminescence

References

Chapter 4: Capacitance Spectroscopy of Thin-Film Solar Cells

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Admittance Basics

4.3 Sample Requirements

4.4 Instrumentation

4.5 Capacitance–Voltage Profiling and the Depletion Approximation

4.6 Admittance Response of Deep States

4.7 The Influence of Deep States on CV Profiles

4.8 DLTS

4.9 Admittance Spectroscopy

4.10 Drive Level Capacitance Profiling

4.11 Photocapacitance

4.12 The Meyer–Neldel Rule

4.13 Spatial Inhomogeneities and Interface States

4.14 Metastability

References

Part Three: Materials Characterization

Chapter 5: Characterizing the Light-Trapping Properties of Textured Surfaces with Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy

5.1 Introduction

5.2 How Does a Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscope Work?

5.3 Light Scattering in the Wave Picture

5.4 The Role of Evanescent Modes for Light Trapping

5.5 Analysis of Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy Images by Fast Fourier Transformation

5.6 How to Extract Far-Field Scattering Properties by Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy?

5.7 Conclusion

References

Chapter 6: Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Theory

6.3 Ellipsometry Instrumentation

6.4 Data Analysis

6.5 RTSE of Thin Film Photovoltaics

6.6 Summary and Future

6.7 Definition of Variables

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 7: Photoluminescence Analysis of Thin-Film Solar Cells

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Experimental Issues

7.3 Basic Transitions

7.4 Case Studies

References

Chapter 8: Steady-State Photocarrier Grating Method

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Basic Analysis of SSPG and Photocurrent Response

8.3 Experimental Setup

8.4 Data Analysis

8.5 Results

8.6 Density-of-States Determination

8.7 Summary

References

Chapter 9: Time-of-Flight Analysis

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Fundamentals of TOF Measurements

9.3 Experimental Details

9.4 Analysis of TOF Results

References

Chapter 10: Electron-Spin Resonance (ESR) in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (a-Si:H)

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Basics of ESR

10.3 How to Measure ESR

10.4 The g Tensor and Hyperfine Interaction in Disordered Solids

10.5 Discussion of Selected Results

10.6 Alternative ESR Detection

10.7 Concluding Remarks

References

Chapter 11: Scanning Probe Microscopy on Inorganic Thin Films for Solar Cells

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Experimental Background

11.3 Selected Applications

11.4 Summary

References

Chapter 12: Electron Microscopy on Thin Films for Solar Cells

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy

12.3 Transmission Electron Microscopy

12.4 Sample Preparation Techniques

References

Chapter 13: X-Ray and Neutron Diffraction on Materials for Thin-Film Solar Cells

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Diffraction of X-Rays and Neutron by Matter

13.3 Neutron Powder Diffraction of Absorber Materials for Thin-Film Solar Cells

13.4 Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD)

13.5 Energy Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction (EDXRD)

References

Chapter 14: Raman Spectroscopy on Thin Films for Solar Cells

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Fundamentals of Raman Spectroscopy

14.3 Vibrational Modes in Crystalline Materials

14.4 Experimental Considerations

14.5 Characterization of Thin-Film Photovoltaic Materials

14.6 Conclusions

References

Chapter 15: Soft X-Ray and Electron Spectroscopy: A Unique “Tool Chest” to Characterize the Chemical and Electronic Properties of Surfaces and Interfaces

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Characterization Techniques

15.3 Probing the Chemical Surface Structure: Impact of Wet Chemical Treatments on Thin-Film Solar Cell Absorbers

15.4 Probing the Electronic Surface and Interface Structure: Band Alignment in Thin-Film Solar Cells

15.5 Summary

References

Chapter 16: Elemental Distribution Profiling of Thin Films for Solar Cells

16.1 Introduction

16.2 Glow Discharge-Optical Emission (GD-OES) and Glow Discharge-Mass Spectroscopy (GD-MS)

16.3 Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)

16.4 Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES)

16.5 X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)

16.6 Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis on Fractured Cross Sections

Acknowledgement

References

Chapter 17: Hydrogen Effusion Experiments

17.1 Introduction

17.2 Experimental Setup

17.3 Data Analysis

17.4 Discussion of Selected Results

17.5 Comparison with Other Experiments

17.6 Concluding Remarks

Acknowledgments

References

Part Four: Materials and Device Modeling

Chapter 18: Ab-Initio Modeling of Defects in Semiconductors

18.1 Introduction

18.2 Density Functional Theory and Methods

18.3 Methods Beyond DFT

18.4 From Total Energies to Materials' Properties

18.5 Ab-initio Characterization of Point Defects

18.6 Conclusions

References

Chapter 19: One-Dimensional Electro-Optical Simulations of Thin-Film Solar Cells

19.1 Introduction

19.2 Fundamentals

19.3 Modeling Hydrogenated Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon

19.4 Optical Modeling of Thin Solar Cells

19.5 Tools

References

Chapter 20: Two- and Three-Dimensional Electronic Modeling of Thin-Film Solar Cells

20.1 Introduction

20.2 Applications

20.3 Methods

20.4 Examples

20.5 Summary

References

Index

Related Titles

Würfel, P.

Physics of Solar Cells

From Basic Principles to Advanced Concepts

2009

ISBN: 978-3-527-40857-3

Poortmans, J., Arkhipov, V. (eds.)

Thin Film Solar Cells

Fabrication, Characterization and Applications

2006

ISBN: 978-0-470-09126-5

Luque, A., Hegedus, S. (eds.)

Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering

Second Edition

2010

ISBN: 978-0-470-72169-8

The Editors

Dr. Daniel Abou-Ras

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

für Materialien und Energie

Berlin, Germany

[email protected]

Dr. Thomas Kirchartz

Imperial College London

London, United Kingdom

[email protected]

Prof. Dr. Uwe Rau

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Jülich, Germany

[email protected]

All books published by Wiley-VCH are carefully produced. Nevertheless, authors, editors, and publisher do not warrant the information contained in these books, including this book, to be free of errors. Readers are advised to keep in mind that statements, data, illustrations, procedural details or other items may inadvertently be inaccurate.

Library of Congress Card No.: applied for

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Boschstr. 12, 69469 Weinheim, Germany

All rights reserved (including those of translation into other languages). No part of this book may be reproduced in any form – by photoprinting, microfilm, or any other means – nor transmitted or translated into a machine language without written permission from the publishers. Registered names, trademarks, etc. used in this book, even when not specifically marked as such, are not to be considered unprotected by law.

ISBN: 978-3-527-41003-3

ISBN oBook: 978-3-527-63628-0

ISBN ePDF: 978-3-527-63630-3

ISBN ePub: 978-3-527-63629-7

ISBN Mobi: 978-3-527-63631-0

For Cíntia, Rafael, Teresa & Julian.

Preface

Inorganic thin-film photovoltaics is a very old research topic with a scientific record of more than 30 years and tens of thousands of published papers. At the same time, thin-film photovoltaics is an emerging research field due to technological progress and the subsequent tremendous growth of the photovoltaic industry during recent years. As a consequence, many young scientists and engineers enter the field not only because of the growing demand for skilled scientific personal but also because of the many interesting scientific and technological questions that are still to be solved. As a consequence, there is a growing demand for skilled scientific staff entering the field who will face a multitude of challenging scientific and technological questions. Thin-film photovoltaics aims for the highest conversion efficiencies and at the same time for the lowest possible cost. Therefore, a profound understanding of corresponding solar-cell devices and the photovoltaic materials applied is a major prerequisite for any further progress in this challenging field.

In recent years, a wide and continuously increasing variety of sophisticated and rather specialized analysis techniques originating from very different directions of physics, chemistry, or materials science has been applied in order to extend the scientific base of thin-film photovoltaics. This increasing specialization is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of photovoltaics where during the “old days” everyone was (and had to be) able to handle virtually every scientific method personally. Consequently, it becomes nowadays more and more challenging for the individual scientist to keep track with the results obtained by specialized analysis methods, the physics behind these methods, and on their implications for the devices.

The need for more communication and exchange especially among scientists and Ph.D. students working in the same field but using very different techniques was more and more rationalized during recent years. As notable consequences, very well attended “Young Scientist Tutorials on Characterization Techniques for Thin-Film Solar Cells” were established at Spring Meetings of the Materials Research Society and the European Materials Research Society. These Tutorials were especially dedicated to mutual teaching and open discussions.

The present handbook aims to follow the line defined by these Tutorials: providing concise and comprehensive lecture-like chapters on specific research methods, written by researchers who use these methods as the core of their scientific work and who at the same time have a precise idea of what is relevant for photovoltaic devices. The chapters are intended to focus on the specific methods more than on significant results. This is because these results, especially in innovative research areas, are subject to rapid change and are better dealt with by review articles. The basic message of the chapters in the present handbook focuses more on how to use the specific methods, on their physical background and especially on their implications for the final purpose of the research, that is, improving the quality of photovoltaic materials and devices.

Therefore, the present handbook is not thought as a textbook on established standard (canonical) methods. Rather, we focus on emerging, specialized methods that are relatively new in the field but have a given relevance. This is why the title of the book addresses “advanced” techniques. However, also new methods need to be judged by their implication for photovoltaic devices. For this reason, an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) will describe the basic physics of thin-film solar cells and modules and also guide to the specific advantages that are provided by the individual methods. In addition, we have made sure that the selected authors are not only established specialists concerning a specific method but also have long-time experience dealing with solar cells. This ensures that in each chapter, the aim of the analysis work is kept on the purpose of improving solar cells.

The choice of characterization techniques is not intended for completeness but should be a representative cross section through the scientific methods that have a high level of visibility in the recent scientific literature. Electrical device characterization (Chapter 2), electroluminescence (Chapter 3), photoluminescence (Chapter 7), and capacitance spectroscopy (Chapter 4) are standard optoelectronic analysis techniques for solid-state materials and devices but are also well-established and of common use in their specific photovoltaic context. In contrast, characterization of light trapping (Chapter 5) is an emerging research topic very specific to the photovoltaic field. Chapters 6, 8 and 9 deal with ellipsometry, the steady-state photocarrier grating method, and time-of-flight analysis, which are dedicated thin-film characterization methods. Steady-state photocarrier grating (Chapter 8) and time-of flight measurements (Chapter 9) specifically target the carrier transport properties of disordered thin-film semiconductors. Electron spin resonance (Chapter 10) is a traditional method in solid-state and molecule physics, which is of particular use for analyzing dangling bonds in disordered semiconductors.

The disordered nature of thin-film photovoltaic materials requires analysis of electronic, structural, and compositional properties at the nanometer scale. This is why methods such as scanning probe techniques (Chapter 11) as well as electron microscopy and its related techniques (Chapter 12) gain increasing importance in the field. X-ray and neutron diffraction (Chapter 13) as well as Raman spectroscopy (Chapter 14) contribute to the analysis of structural properties of photovoltaic materials. Since thin-film solar cells consist of layer stacks with interfaces and surfaces, important issues are addressed by understanding their chemical and electronic properties, which may be studied by means of soft X-ray and electron spectroscopy (Chapter 15). Important information for thin-film solar cell research and development are the elemental distributions in the layer stacks, analyzed by various techniques presented in Chapter 16. Specifically for silicon thin-film solar cells, knowledge about hydrogen incorporation and stability is obtained from hydrogen effusion experiments (Chapter 17).

For designing photovoltaic materials with specific electrical and optoelectronic properties, it is important to predict these properties for a given compound. Combining experimental results from materials analysis with those from ab-initio calculations based on density-functional theory provides the means to study point defects in photovoltaic materials (Chapter 18). Finally, in order to come full circle regarding the solar-cell devices treated in the first chapters of the handbook, the information gained from the various materials analyses and calculations may now be introduced into one-dimensional (Chapter 19) or multidimensional device simulations (Chapter 20). By means of carefully designed optical and electronic simulations, photovoltaic performances of specific devices may be studied even before their manufacture.

We believe that the overview of these various characterization techniques is not only useful for colleagues engaged in the research and development of inorganic thin-film solar cells, from which the examples in the present handbook are given, but also to those working with other types of solar cells as well as with other optoelectronic, thin-film devices.

The editors would like to thank all authors of this handbook for their excellent and (almost) punctual contributions. We are especially grateful to Ulrike Fuchs and Anja Tschörtner, WILEY-VCH, for helping in realizing this book project.

August 2010

Daniel Abou-Ras, BerlinThomas Kirchartz, Londonand Uwe Rau, Jülich

List of Contributors

Daniel Abou-Ras

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Péter Ágoston

Technische Universität Darmstadt

Institut für Materialwissenschaft

Fachgebiet Materialmodellierung

Petersenstr. 23

64287 Darmstadt

Germany

Karsten Albe

Technische Universität Darmstadt

Institut für Materialwissenschaft

Fachgebiet Materialmodellierung

Petersenstr. 23

64287 Darmstadt

Germany

Jacobo Álvarez-García

Universitat de Barcelona

Facultat de Física

Department Electrònica

C. Martí i Franquès 1

08028 Barcelona

Spain

Marcus Bär

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Jan Behrends

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Institut für Silizium-Photovoltaik

Kekuléstr. 5

12489 Berlin

Germany

Wolfhard Beyer

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Karsten Bittkau

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Torsten Bronger

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Rudolf Brüggemann

Carl von Ossietzky Universität

Oldenburg

Fakultät V – Institut für Physik

AG Greco

Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11

26129 Oldenburg

Germany

Marc Burgelman

Universiteit Gent

Vakgroep Elektronica en

Informatiesystemen (ELIS)

St.- Pietersnieuwstraat 41

9000 Gent

Belgium

Raquel Caballero

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Robert W. Collins

University of Toledo

Department of Physics and Astronomy

2801 W. Bancroft Street

Toledo, OH 43606

USA

Koen Decock

Universiteit Gent

Vakgroep Elektronica en

Informatiesystemen (ELIS)

St.- Pietersnieuwstraat 41

9000 Gent

Belgium

Kaining Ding

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Varvara Efimova

Leibniz Institute for Solid State and

Materials Research (IFW) Dresden

Institute for Complex Materials

Helmholtzstraße 20

01069 Dresden

Germany

Florian Einsele

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Matthias Fehr

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Institut für Silizium-Photovoltaik

Kekuléstr. 5

12489 Berlin

Germany

Levent Gütay

University of Luxembourg

Faculté des Sciences, de la Technologie

et de la Communication

41, rue du Brill

4422 Belvaux

Luxembourg

Jennifer Heath

Linfield College

Department of Physics

900 SE Baker Street

McMinnville, OR 97128

USA

Anke Helbig

University of Stuttgart

Institut für Physikalische Elektronik

Pfaffenwaldring 47

70569 Stuttgart

Germany

Clemens Heske

University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV)

Department of Chemistry

4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 454003

Las Vegas, NV 89154-4003

USA

Volker Hoffmann

Leibniz Institute for Solid State and

Materials Research (IFW) Dresden

Institute for Complex Materials

Helmholtzstraße 20

01069 Dresden

Germany

Víctor Izquierdo-Roca

Universitat de Barcelona

Facultat de Física

Department Electrònica

C. Martí i Franquès 1

08028 Barcelona

Spain

Ana Kanevce

Colorado State University

Department of Physics

1875 Campus Delivery

Fort Collins, CO 80523-1875

USA

and

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Blvd.

Golden, CO 80401-3305

USA

Christian A. Kaufmann

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Thomas Kirchartz

Imperial College London

Blackett Laboratory of Physics

Experimental Solid State Physics

Prince Consort Road

London SW7 2AZ

UK

Denis Klemm

Leibniz Institute for Solid State and

Materials Research (IFW) Dresden

Institute for Complex Materials

Helmholtzstraße 20

01069 Dresden

Germany

Jian Li

University of Toledo

Department of Physics and Astronomy

2801 W. Bancroft Street

Toledo, OH 43606

USA

Klaus Lips

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Institut für Silizium-Photovoltaik

Kekuléstr. 5

12489 Berlin

Germany

Roland Mainz

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Sylvain Marsillac

University of Toledo

Department of Physics and Astronomy

2801 W. Bancroft Street

Toledo, OH 43606

USA

Wyatt K. Metzger

PrimeStar Solar

13100 West 43rd Drive

Golden, CO 80403

USA

Melanie Nichterwitz

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Tim Nunney

Thermo Fisher Scientific

The Birches Industrial Estate

Imberhorne Lane

East Grinstead

West Sussex RH19 1UB

UK

Alejandro Pérez-Rodríguez

University of Barcelona

Catalonia Institute for Energy Research

(IREC)

C. Josep Pla 2, B2

08019 Barcelona

Spain

Bart E. Pieters

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Johan Pohl

Technische Universität Darmstadt

Institut für Materialwissenschaft

Fachgebiet Materialmodellierung

Petersenstr. 23

64287 Darmstadt

Germany

Uwe Rau

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Institut für Energieforschung (IEF-5),

Photovoltaik

Leo-Brandt-Straße

52428 Jülich

Germany

Angus A. Rockett

University of Illinois

Department of Materials Science and

Engineering

1304 W. Green Street

Urbana, IL 61801

USA

Manuel J. Romero

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Blvd.

Golden, CO 80401-3305

USA

Sascha Sadewasser

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Sebastian Schmidt

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Susan Schorr

Free University Berlin

Department for Geosciences

Malteserstr. 74-100

12249 Berlin

Germany

Michelle N. Sestak

University of Toledo

Department of Physics and Astronomy

2801 W. Bancroft Street

Toledo, OH 43606

USA

Rolf Stangl

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Kekuléstraße 5

12489 Berlin

Germany

Christiane Stephan

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Tobias Törndahl

Uppsala University

Solid State Electronics

PO Box 534

751 21 Uppsala

Sweden

Thomas Unold

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für

Materialien und Energie (HZB)

Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1

14109 Berlin

Germany

Cornel Venzago

AQura GmbH

Rodenbacher Chaussee 4

63457 Hanau

Germany

Iris Visoly-Fisher

Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Department of Chemistry

Be.er Sheva 84105

Israel

Lothar Weinhardt

Universität Würzburg

Physikalisches Institut

Experimentelle Physik VII

Am Hubland

97074 Würzburg

Germany

Thomas Wirth

Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung

und -prüfung

Unter den Eichen 87

12205 Berlin

Germany

Pawel Zabierowski

Warsaw University of Technology

Faculty of Physics

Koszykowa 75

00-662 Warsaw

Poland

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: The authors would like to thank Dorothea Lennartz for help with the figures. Special thanks are due to Bart Pieters for discussions on thin-film silicon solar cells.

Chapters 2 and 3: Also for these chapters, Dorothea Lennartz is gratefully acknowledged for the help with the figures.

Chapter 4: The authors gratefully acknowledge Steven W. Johnston and Jian V. Li for valuable discussions of the manuscript, as well as for assistance with the figures.

Chapter 5: The author thanks Thomas Beckers for parts of the measurements and Reinhard Carius for the helpful discussions. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is acknowledged for the partial financial support through Grant No. PAK88.

Chapter 6: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from DOE Grants No. DE-FG36-08GO18067 and DE-FG36-08GO1 8073 and from the State of Ohio Third Frontier's Wright Centers of Innovation Program.

Chapter 7: The authors would like to thank Jes Larsen (University of Luxembourg) and Steffen Kretzschmar (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin) for additional PL measurements and Raquel Caballero and Tim Münchenberg for preparation of samples.

Chapter 8: The author is grateful to M. Bayrak and O. Neumann for some measurements.

Chapter 10: The authors greatly acknowledge Alexander Schnegg for helpful discussions, suggestions, and proofreading the manuscript. The support from Christian Gutsche for updating our literature database and designing some of the graphs of this article is also greatly appreciated. Matthias Fehr is indebted to the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) for financial support through the Network project EPR-Solar, Contract No. 03SF0328A.

Chapter 11: Iris Visoly-Fisher is grateful to David Cahen and Sidney R. Cohen for their contribution to results presented in this chapter. Sascha Sadewasser acknowledges support from Thilo Glatzel, David Fuertes Marrón, Marin Rusu, Roland Mainz, and Martha Ch. Lux-Steiner.

Chapter 12: The authors are grateful to Jaison Kavalakkatt for designing various figures and to Jürgen Bundesmann for technical support. Special thanks are due to Heiner Jaksch (Carl Zeiss NTS) and to Michael Lehmann (TU Berlin) for fruitful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC36-08-GO28308.

Chapter 13: The authors are gratefully acknowledge H. Rodriguez-Alvarez for his valuable contributions to the in-situ EDXRD results, the support in the neutron diffraction experiments by Michael Tovar and the support in the synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments by Christoph Genzel and the team at the EDDI beamline. Moreover, Mikael Ottosson is acknowledged for measurements in the GIXRD section.

Chapter 14: The authors are grateful to Tariq Jawhari and Lorenzo Calvo-Barrio from the Scientific-Technical Services of the University of Barcelona as well as to Edgardo Saucedo and Xavier Fontané from IREC for fruitful discussions and suggestions. A. Pérez-Rodríguez and V. Izquierdo-Roca belong to the M-2E (Electronic Materials for Energy) Consolidated Research Group and the XaRMAE Network of Excellence on Materials for Energy of the “Generalitat de Catalunya.”

Chapter 15: The authors gratefully acknowledge (in alphabetically order) M. Blum, J.D. Denlinger, N. Dhere, C.-H. Fischer, O. Fuchs, T. Gleim, D. Gross, A. Kadam, F. Karg, S. Kulkarni, B. Lohmüller, M.C. Lux-Steiner, M. Morkel, H.-J. Muffler, T. Niesen, S. Nishiwaki, S. Pookpanratana, W. Riedl, W. Shafarman, G. Storch, E. Umbach, W. Yang, Y. Zubavichus, and S. Zweigart for their contributions to the results presented in this chapter. Valuable discussions with L. Kronik and J. Sites are also acknowledged. The research was funded through the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through SFB 410 (TP B3), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory through Subcontract Nos. XXL-5-44205-12 and ADJ-1-30630-12, the DFG Emmy Noether program, and the German BMWA (FKZ 0329218C). The Advanced Light Source is supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the US Department of Energy under Contract Nos. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and DE-AC03-76SF00098.

Chapter 16: Volker Hoffmann, Denis Klemm, Varvara Efimova (IFW Dresden), and Cornel Venzago from AQura GmbH gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the FP6 Research Training Network GLADNET (No. MRTN-CT-2006-035459). The group from IFW Dresden thanks the Spectruma Analytik GmbH and HZB, Berlin for good collaborations. Christian A. Kaufmann and Raquel Caballero are grateful to Jürgen Bundesmann for technical support.

Chapter 17: The authors wish to thank Dorothea Lennartz and Pavel Prunici for valuable technical support. Interest and support by Uwe Rau is kindly acknowledged.

Chapter 18: The authors are grateful for the support by the Sonderforschungsbereich 595 “Ermüdung von Funktionsmaterialien” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

Chapter 19: The authors are grateful to Rudi Brüggemann for discussions on solar-cell simulations. Marc Burgelman and Koen Decock acknowledge the support of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO; Ph.D. fellowship).

Chapter 20: This work was supported by the US Department of Energy under Contract Number DE-AC36-08GO28308 to NREL.

Abbreviations

1DOne-dimensional2DTwo-dimensional3DThree-dimensionalA°XExcitons bound to neutral acceptoracAlternating currentADFAnnular dark fieldADXRDAngle-dispersive X-ray diffractionAESAuger electron spectroscopyAEYAuger electron yieldAFMAtomic force microscopyAFORS-HETAutomat for simulation of heterostructuresALDAAdiabatic local density approximationAMAmplitude modulationAMAir massAMUAtomic mass unitsARSAngularly resolved light scatteringASAdmittance spectroscopyASAAdvanced semiconductor analysisASCIIAmerican Standard Code for Information Interchangea-SiAmorphous siliconA-XExcitons bound to ionized acceptorBFBright fieldBSBeam splitterBSEBethe–Salpeter equationBSEBackscattered electronsc-AFMConductive AFMCBDChemical bath depositionCBEDConvergent-beam electron diffractionCBMConduction-band minimumCBOConduction-band offsetCCcoupled clusterCCDCharge-coupled deviceCHAConcentric hemispherical analyzerCIconfiguration interactionCIGSCu(In,Ga)Se2CIGSeCu(In,Ga)Se2CIGSSeCu(In,Ga)(S;Se)2CISCuInSe2CISCuInS2CISeCuInSe2CLCathodoluminescenceCLCore levelCMACylindrical mirror analyzerCNCharge neutralityCPCritical pointCPDContact-potential differenceCSLCoincidence-site latticeCSSClosed-space sublimationCTEMConventional transmission electron microscopyCVCapacitance–voltagecwContinuous waveD°hOptical transitions between donor and free holeD°XExcitons bound to neutral donorDAPDonor–acceptor pairDBDangling bonddcDirect currentDFDark fieldDFPTDensity functional perturbation theoryDFTDensity functional theoryDLCPDrive-level capacitance profilingDLOSDeep-level optical spectroscopyDLTSDeep-level transient spectroscopyDOSDensity of statesDSRDifferential spectral responseDTDigitalD-XExcitons bound to ionized donoreA°Optical transitions between acceptor and free electronEBICElectron-beam-induced currentEBSDElectron backscatter diffractionEDMRElectrically detected magnetic resonanceEDXEnergy-dispersive X-ray spectrometryEDXRDEnergy-dispersive X-ray diffractionEELSElectron energy-loss spectrometryEFTEMEnergy-filtered transmission electron microscopyELElectroluminescenceELNESEnergy-loss near-edge structureEMPAEidgenössische MaterialprüfungsanstaltENDORelectron-nuclear double resonanceEPRElectron paramagnetic resonanceESCAElectron spectroscopy for chemical analysisESEEMElectron-spin echo envelope modulationESIEnergy-selective imagingESRElectron spin resonanceEXCFree excition transitionEXELFSExtended energy-loss fine structureFFTFast Fourier transformationFIBFocused ion beamFMFrequency modulationFP-LAPWfull potential-linearized augmented plane waveFWHMFull width at half maximumFXFree excitonsFYFluorescence yieldGBGrain boundaryGD-MSGlow discharge-mass spectroscopyGD-OESGlow discharge-optical emission spectroscopyGGAGeneralized gradient approximationGIXRDGrazing-incidence X-ray diffractionGNUIs not Unix (recursive acronym)GPLGeneral public licenceGWG for Green's function and W for the screened Coulomb interactionHAADFHigh-angle annular dark fieldHFIHyperfine interactionHOPGHighly oriented pyrolytic graphiteHRHigh resistanceHRHigh resolutionHTHigh-temperatureHWCVDHot-wire plasma-enhanced chemical vapor depositionHZBHelmholtz-Zentrum BerlinIBBInterface-induced band bendingIPESInverse photoelectron spectroscopyIRInfraredJEBICJunction electron-beam-induced currentKPFMKelvin-probe force microscopyKSKohn–ShamKSMKaplan–Solomon–Mott (model)LBICLaser-beam-induced currentLCR meterInduction, capacitance, resistance - impedance analyzerLDAlocal density approximationLEDLight-emitting diodeLESRLight-induced ESRLIALock-in amplifierLOLongitudinal opticalLRLow resistanceLTLow-temperatureLVMLocalized vibrational modesMBPTMany-body perturbation theoryMDMolecular dynamicsMIPMean-inner potentialMISMetal-insulator-semiconductorMLMonolayerMOMetal oxideMOSMetal-oxide-semiconductorMSEMean-square errormwMicrowavenc-AFMNon-contact atomic force microscopyNIRNear-infraredNISTNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyNSOMNear-field scanning optical microscopyOBICOptical-beam-induced currentOVCOrdered vacancy compoundPBE-GGAgeneralized gradient approximation by Perdew, Burke, and ErnzerhofPCSAPolarizer-compensator-sample-analyzer; instrument configuration for spectroscopic ellipsometryPDAPhotodetector arrayPDEPartial differential equationsPECVDPlasma-enhanced chemical vapor depositionPESPhotoelectron spectroscopypESRpulsed electron spin resonancePEYPartial electron yieldPIPOPhoton-in photon-outPLPhotoluminescencePLLPhase-locked loopPMTPhotomultiplier tubeppPeak-to-peakPVPhotovoltaicPVDPhysical vapor depositionQEQuantum efficiencyQMAQuadrupole mass analyzerQMCQuantum Monte CarloRDLTSReverse-bias deep-level transient spectroscopyREBICRemote electron-beam-induced currentrfRadio frequencyRGBRed-green-blue, color spaceRIXSResonant inelastic (soft) x-ray scatteringRSRaman spectroscopyRSFRelative sensitivity factorRTPRapid thermal processRTSEReal-time spectroscopic ellipsometryRZWRitter, Zeldow, Weiser analysisS/NSignal-to-noise (ratio)SAEDSelected-area electron diffractionSCAPSSolar-cell capacitance simulatorSCMScanning capacitance microscopySESpectroscopic ellipsometrySESecondary electronSEMScanning electron microscopySIMSSecondary-ion mass spectroscopySNMSSputtered neutral mass spectroscopySNOM, see also NSOMScanning near-field optical microscopySPICESimulation Program with Integrated Circuit EmphasisSPMScanning probe microscopySQShockley–Queisser (limit)SRSpectral responseSSPGSteady-state photocarrier gratingSSRMScanning spreading-resistance microscopySTEMScanning transmission electron microscopySTMScanning tunneling microscopySWEStaebler–Wronski effectTCOTransparent conductive oxideTDTrigger diodeTD-DFTTime-dependent density functional theoryTDSThermal desorption spectroscopyTEMTransmission electron microscopyTEYTotal electron yieldTFTuning forkTOTransversal opticalTOFTime of flightTPCTransient photocapacitance spectroscopyTPDTemperature-programmed desorptionTUTechnical UniversityUHVUltrahigh vacuumUPSUltraviolet photoelectron spectroscopyUVUltravioletVBMValence-band maximumVBOValence-band offsetVisVisibleWDXWavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometryXAESX-ray Auger electron spectroscopyXASX-ray absorption spectroscopyXESX-ray emission spectroscopyXPSX-ray photoelectron spectroscopyXRDX-ray diffractionXRFX-ray fluorescenceµc-SiMicrocrystalline silicon

Part One

Introduction