Degradation of Cu(In, Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells due to the ionization effect of low-energy electrons

Cu (In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells were irradiated with 100 keV electrons to reveal the characteristics of created radiation defects. 100 keV electrons cannot produce any displacement defects in CIGS. Low-fluence electrons improve the electrical performance of the CIGS solar cells due to the change in the conductive type of donor to acceptor in a metastable defect, which is equivalent to the light-soaking effect. However, high fluence electrons cause the cell performance to decline. From analysis based on changes in carrier density and electroluminescence, defects causing the decline in performance include donor- and non-radiative types. In addition, red-on-bias experiments showed an increase in IIICu defects due to electron irradiation. Based on these results, the degradation in the electrical performance of the CIGS solar cells irradiated with high electron fluence would be attributable to a change in the conductive type of IIICu defects.