Suppressing Buried Interface Nonradiative Recombination Losses Toward High-Efficiency Antimony Triselenide Solar...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photovoltaics
• Thin Film Technology

Background:

• Antimony triselenide (Sb₂ Se₃) exhibits promising optoelectronic properties for solar energy applications.
• Carrier transport losses due to bulk and interfacial recombination significantly limit the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Sb₂ Se₃ solar cells.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the performance of Sb₂ Se₃ solar cells by addressing carrier transport losses.
• To optimize film growth kinetics and band alignment through synergistic interface and heterojunction engineering.

Main Methods:

• Synergistic application of buried interface and heterojunction engineering.
• Control of precursor film orientation to promote preferred (hk1) growth of Sb₂ Se₃ films.
• Minimization of interfacial trap-assisted nonradiative recombination and optimization of heterojunction band alignment.

Main Results:

• Achieved preferred orientational growth of Sb₂ Se₃ films.
• Successfully reduced interfacial recombination and optimized band alignment.
• Developed a champion device with a record PCE of 9.24%, featuring a short-circuit current density (J_SC) of 29.47 mA cm^-2 and a fill factor (FF) of 63.65% for sputtered Sb₂ Se₃ solar cells.

Conclusions:

• The combined approach of interface and heterojunction engineering is effective in fabricating high-quality Sb₂ Se₃ thin films.
• This strategy significantly enhances the performance of Sb₂ Se₃-based solar cells, setting a new benchmark for sputtered devices.
• The study provides a valuable framework for future development of efficient Sb₂ Se₃ photovoltaic technologies.