Near-interface doping by ion implantation in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Abstract Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 absorber layers were implanted with 20 keV Cd ions in order to investigate the influence of changes in the near-interface doping profile. Modifications in this region are shown by AMPS-1D simulations to have substantial impact on solar cell properties. Ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing steps were monitored by SIMS measurements to control the thermal diffusion of the dopant. Solar cells both with and without CdS buffer layer were made from the implanted absorbers and characterized by j-V and EQE measurements. These experimental results in conjunction with simulations of the quantum efficiency show that a well-defined type-inversion of the implanted layer can be achieved by low-energy ion implantation.