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
daniel.abou-ras@helmholtz-berlin.de
Dr. Thomas Kirchartz
Imperial College London
London, United Kingdom
t.kirchartz@imperial.ac.uk
Prof. Dr. Uwe Rau
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Jülich, Germany
u.rau@fz-juelich.de
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ISBN: 978-3-527-41003-3
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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, Berlin
Thomas Kirchartz, London
and 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
| 1D | One-dimensional |
| 2D | Two-dimensional |
| 3D | Three-dimensional |
| A°X | Excitons bound to neutral acceptor |
| ac | Alternating current |
| ADF | Annular dark field |
| ADXRD | Angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction |
| AES | Auger electron spectroscopy |
| AEY | Auger electron yield |
| AFM | Atomic force microscopy |
| AFORS-HET | Automat for simulation of heterostructures |
| ALDA | Adiabatic local density approximation |
| AM | Amplitude modulation |
| AM | Air mass |
| AMU | Atomic mass units |
| ARS | Angularly resolved light scattering |
| AS | Admittance spectroscopy |
| ASA | Advanced semiconductor analysis |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange |
| a-Si | Amorphous silicon |
| A-X | Excitons bound to ionized acceptor |
| BF | Bright field |
| BS | Beam splitter |
| BSE | Bethe–Salpeter equation |
| BSE | Backscattered electrons |
| c-AFM | Conductive AFM |
| CBD | Chemical bath deposition |
| CBED | Convergent-beam electron diffraction |
| CBM | Conduction-band minimum |
| CBO | Conduction-band offset |
| CC | coupled cluster |
| CCD | Charge-coupled device |
| CHA | Concentric hemispherical analyzer |
| CI | configuration interaction |
| CIGS | Cu(In,Ga)Se2 |
| CIGSe | Cu(In,Ga)Se2 |
| CIGSSe | Cu(In,Ga)(S;Se)2 |
| CIS | CuInSe2 |
| CIS | CuInS2 |
| CISe | CuInSe2 |
| CL | Cathodoluminescence |
| CL | Core level |
| CMA | Cylindrical mirror analyzer |
| CN | Charge neutrality |
| CP | Critical point |
| CPD | Contact-potential difference |
| CSL | Coincidence-site lattice |
| CSS | Closed-space sublimation |
| CTEM | Conventional transmission electron microscopy |
| CV | Capacitance–voltage |
| cw | Continuous wave |
| D°h | Optical transitions between donor and free hole |
| D°X | Excitons bound to neutral donor |
| DAP | Donor–acceptor pair |
| DB | Dangling bond |
| dc | Direct current |
| DF | Dark field |
| DFPT | Density functional perturbation theory |
| DFT | Density functional theory |
| DLCP | Drive-level capacitance profiling |
| DLOS | Deep-level optical spectroscopy |
| DLTS | Deep-level transient spectroscopy |
| DOS | Density of states |
| DSR | Differential spectral response |
| DT | Digital |
| D-X | Excitons bound to ionized donor |
| eA° | Optical transitions between acceptor and free electron |
| EBIC | Electron-beam-induced current |
| EBSD | Electron backscatter diffraction |
| EDMR | Electrically detected magnetic resonance |
| EDX | Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry |
| EDXRD | Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction |
| EELS | Electron energy-loss spectrometry |
| EFTEM | Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy |
| EL | Electroluminescence |
| ELNES | Energy-loss near-edge structure |
| EMPA | Eidgenössische Materialprüfungsanstalt |
| ENDOR | electron-nuclear double resonance |
| EPR | Electron paramagnetic resonance |
| ESCA | Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis |
| ESEEM | Electron-spin echo envelope modulation |
| ESI | Energy-selective imaging |
| ESR | Electron spin resonance |
| EXC | Free excition transition |
| EXELFS | Extended energy-loss fine structure |
| FFT | Fast Fourier transformation |
| FIB | Focused ion beam |
| FM | Frequency modulation |
| FP-LAPW | full potential-linearized augmented plane wave |
| FWHM | Full width at half maximum |
| FX | Free excitons |
| FY | Fluorescence yield |
| GB | Grain boundary |
| GD-MS | Glow discharge-mass spectroscopy |
| GD-OES | Glow discharge-optical emission spectroscopy |
| GGA | Generalized gradient approximation |
| GIXRD | Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction |
| GNU | Is not Unix (recursive acronym) |
| GPL | General public licence |
| GW | G for Green's function and W for the screened Coulomb interaction |
| HAADF | High-angle annular dark field |
| HFI | Hyperfine interaction |
| HOPG | Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite |
| HR | High resistance |
| HR | High resolution |
| HT | High-temperature |
| HWCVD | Hot-wire plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition |
| HZB | Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin |
| IBB | Interface-induced band bending |
| IPES | Inverse photoelectron spectroscopy |
| IR | Infrared |
| JEBIC | Junction electron-beam-induced current |
| KPFM | Kelvin-probe force microscopy |
| KS | Kohn–Sham |
| KSM | Kaplan–Solomon–Mott (model) |
| LBIC | Laser-beam-induced current |
| LCR meter | Induction, capacitance, resistance - impedance analyzer |
| LDA | local density approximation |
| LED | Light-emitting diode |
| LESR | Light-induced ESR |
| LIA | Lock-in amplifier |
| LO | Longitudinal optical |
| LR | Low resistance |
| LT | Low-temperature |
| LVM | Localized vibrational modes |
| MBPT | Many-body perturbation theory |
| MD | Molecular dynamics |
| MIP | Mean-inner potential |
| MIS | Metal-insulator-semiconductor |
| ML | Monolayer |
| MO | Metal oxide |
| MOS | Metal-oxide-semiconductor |
| MSE | Mean-square error |
| mw | Microwave |
| nc-AFM | Non-contact atomic force microscopy |
| NIR | Near-infrared |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NSOM | Near-field scanning optical microscopy |
| OBIC | Optical-beam-induced current |
| OVC | Ordered vacancy compound |
| PBE-GGA | generalized gradient approximation by Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof |
| PCSA | Polarizer-compensator-sample-analyzer; instrument configuration for spectroscopic ellipsometry |
| PDA | Photodetector array |
| PDE | Partial differential equations |
| PECVD | Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition |
| PES | Photoelectron spectroscopy |
| pESR | pulsed electron spin resonance |
| PEY | Partial electron yield |
| PIPO | Photon-in photon-out |
| PL | Photoluminescence |
| PLL | Phase-locked loop |
| PMT | Photomultiplier tube |
| pp | Peak-to-peak |
| PV | Photovoltaic |
| PVD | Physical vapor deposition |
| QE | Quantum efficiency |
| QMA | Quadrupole mass analyzer |
| QMC | Quantum Monte Carlo |
| RDLTS | Reverse-bias deep-level transient spectroscopy |
| REBIC | Remote electron-beam-induced current |
| rf | Radio frequency |
| RGB | Red-green-blue, color space |
| RIXS | Resonant inelastic (soft) x-ray scattering |
| RS | Raman spectroscopy |
| RSF | Relative sensitivity factor |
| RTP | Rapid thermal process |
| RTSE | Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry |
| RZW | Ritter, Zeldow, Weiser analysis |
| S/N | Signal-to-noise (ratio) |
| SAED | Selected-area electron diffraction |
| SCAPS | Solar-cell capacitance simulator |
| SCM | Scanning capacitance microscopy |
| SE | Spectroscopic ellipsometry |
| SE | Secondary electron |
| SEM | Scanning electron microscopy |
| SIMS | Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy |
| SNMS | Sputtered neutral mass spectroscopy |
| SNOM, see also NSOM | Scanning near-field optical microscopy |
| SPICE | Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis |
| SPM | Scanning probe microscopy |
| SQ | Shockley–Queisser (limit) |
| SR | Spectral response |
| SSPG | Steady-state photocarrier grating |
| SSRM | Scanning spreading-resistance microscopy |
| STEM | Scanning transmission electron microscopy |
| STM | Scanning tunneling microscopy |
| SWE | Staebler–Wronski effect |
| TCO | Transparent conductive oxide |
| TD | Trigger diode |
| TD-DFT | Time-dependent density functional theory |
| TDS | Thermal desorption spectroscopy |
| TEM | Transmission electron microscopy |
| TEY | Total electron yield |
| TF | Tuning fork |
| TO | Transversal optical |
| TOF | Time of flight |
| TPC | Transient photocapacitance spectroscopy |
| TPD | Temperature-programmed desorption |
| TU | Technical University |
| UHV | Ultrahigh vacuum |
| UPS | Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy |
| UV | Ultraviolet |
| VBM | Valence-band maximum |
| VBO | Valence-band offset |
| Vis | Visible |
| WDX | Wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry |
| XAES | X-ray Auger electron spectroscopy |
| XAS | X-ray absorption spectroscopy |
| XES | X-ray emission spectroscopy |
| XPS | X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy |
| XRD | X-ray diffraction |
| XRF | X-ray fluorescence |
| µc-Si | Microcrystalline silicon |
Part One
Introduction