A Systematic Study of Light-On-Bias Behavior in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells With Varying Absorber Compositions

Light-on-bias effects were investigated in multiple Cu(In, Ga)Se ₂ solar cells with varying absorber layer compositions. A strong link between deformations caused by red-on-bias treatments in current-voltage (IV ) and capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics was demonstrated. Similarly to red-on-bias, blue-on-bias leads to a local increase in static negative charge, but in samples with CdS buffers this increase is shifted away from the interface and has no impact on device performance. IV characteristics of samples with Cd-free buffers are not affected by any light-on-bias treatments, suggesting that CdS plays a vital role in the decreased performance after red-on-bias. A statistical approach was used to search for compositional trends in red-on-bias behavior. Deformation factors were defined for IV and CV characteristics before and after the treatment. While there is a strong relationship between the deformations observed in both types of measurements, the degree to which red-on-bias affects IV and CV curves can vary dramatically. These variations cannot be attributed to changes in composition, since no clear compositional trends were found. Rather, other factors related to sample manufacturing and to the buffer layer seem to have major impact on red-on-bias behavior.