Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Atom Probe Tomography Studies on the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Grain Boundaries
Published on: April 22, 2013
Indium-gallium segregation in CuIn(x)Ga(1-x)Se2: an ab initio-based Monte Carlo study
Christian D R Ludwig1, Thomas Gruhn, Claudia Felser
1Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
Thin-film solar cells with CuIn(x)Ga(1-x)Se2 (CIGS) absorber are still far below their efficiency limit, although lab cells already reach 20.1%. One important aspect is the homogeneity of the alloy. Large-scale simulations combining Monte Carlo and density functional calculations show that two phases coexist in thermal equilibrium below room temperature. Only at higher temperatures, CIGS becomes more and more a homogeneous alloy. A larger degree of inhomogeneity for Ga-rich CIGS persists over a wide temperature range, which contributes to the observed low efficiency of Ga-rich CIGS solar cells.
More Related Videos
04:09Demonstrating the Simplicity and In Situ Temperature Monitoring of the Mechanochemical Synthesis of Metal Chalcogenides Suitable for Thermoelectrics
Published on: August 30, 2024
05:39Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Semiconductors
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...
Types of Semiconductors
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...
Biasing of Metal-Semiconductor Junctions
In Schottky junctions, where the semiconductor is n-type, applying a positive voltage to the metal relative to the semiconductor reduces its Fermi...