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Surface Band Bending Engineered via Lithium-Induced Reconstruction for Minimized Voltage Deficit in Kesterite Solar
Caijing Shang1, Shengren Xia1, Gang Yang2
1Key Lab for Special Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for High-Efficiency Display and Lighting Technology, and School of Nanoscience and Materials Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, P. R. China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|January 30, 2026
Summary
A novel surface treatment using a lithium-containing solution significantly reduces voltage loss in kesterite solar cells. This approach enhances energy conversion efficiency by minimizing interfacial recombination and boosting open-circuit voltage.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Kesterite solar cells face efficiency limitations due to large open-circuit voltage deficits (VOC,def).
- Cu/Zn antisite defects cause surface potential and bandgap fluctuations, hindering energy level alignment and causing recombination at the CZTSSe/CdS interface.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a surface treatment strategy for kesterite solar cells to overcome VOC,def limitations.
- To improve energy level alignment and reduce recombination at the absorber/buffer layer interface.
Main Methods:
- Spin-coating a high-concentration Li-containing solution onto CZTS precursor films.
- Surface reconstruction to form a weak n-type phase and introduce n-type ZnLi and shallow-level LiZn defects.
Main Results:
- Formation of a stable weak n-type phase and beneficial defects (ZnLi, LiZn) on the CZTSSe surface.
- Suppression of detrimental CuZn defects, leading to increased band bending and reduced non-radiative recombination.
- Achieved a champion kesterite solar cell efficiency of 14.92% with a VOC of 570 mV and reduced VOC,def to 0.266 V.
Conclusions:
- Li-containing surface treatment is a feasible strategy to modulate kesterite absorber surfaces.
- Minimizing interfacial losses through surface reconstruction significantly enhances kesterite solar cell performance.
- The developed method effectively addresses VOC,def, paving the way for higher efficiency kesterite devices.
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