Carrier lifetimes in thin-film photovoltaics

Abstract

The carrier lifetimes in thin-film solar cells are reviewed and discussed. Shockley-Read-Hall recombination is dominant at low carrier density, Auger recombination is dominant under a high injection condition and high carrier density, and surface recombination is dominant under any conditions. Because the surface photovoltage technique is insensitive to the surface condition, it is useful for bulk lifetime measurements. The photoconductance decay technique measures the effective recombination lifetime. The time-resolved photoluminescence technique is very useful for measuring thin-film semiconductor or solar-cell materials lifetime, because the sample is thin, other techniques are not suitable for measuring the lifetime. Many papers have provided time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) lifetimes for copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) and CdTe thin-film solar cell. The TRPL lifetime strongly depends on open-circuit voltage and conversion efficiency; however, the TRPL life time is insensitive to the short-circuit current. © 2015, The Korean Physical Society.