Indium sulfide buffer/CIGSSe interface engineering: Improved cell performance by the addition of zinc sulfide

Indium sulfide buffer layers deposited by the spray-ion layer gas reaction (Spray-ILGAR) technique are a viable alternative to the traditional cadmium sulfide buffer layer in thin film solar cells. In the present work we report on the results of manipulating the absorber/buffer interface between the chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 absorber (CIGSSe) and the indium sulfide buffer. It is shown that the deposition of a small amount of zinc sulfide at the absorber/buffer interface can be used to increase the open circuit voltage. A small but significant increase of 20 mV (up to 580 mV), as compared to the pure indium sulfide buffered cells is possible leading to an increase in the overall efficiency.