Device and performance parameters of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)₂-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness

In pursuit of low-cost and highly efficient thin film solar cells, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)₂/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al (CIGSS) solar cells were fabricated using a two-step process. The thickness of i-ZnO layer was varied from 0 to 454 nm. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the devices were measured, and the device and performance parameters of the solar cells were obtained from the J-V curves to analyze the effect of varying i-ZnO layer thickness. The device parameters were determined using a parameter extraction method that utilized particle swarm optimization. The method is a curve-fitting routine that employed the two-diode model. The J-V curves of the solar cells were fitted with the model and the parameters were determined. Results show that as the thickness of i-ZnO was increased, the average efficiency and the fill factor (FF) of the solar cells increase. Device parameters reveal that although the series resistance increased with thicker i-ZnO layer, the solar cells absorbed more photons resulting in higher short-circuit current density (J_sc) and, consequently, higher photo-generated current density (J_L). For solar cells with 303-454 nm-thick i-ZnO layer, the best devices achieved efficiency between 15.24% and 15.73% and the fill factor varied between 0.65 and 0.67.