Earth-Abundant Thin-film Solar Cells

Given the remarkable potential of photovoltaic (PV) technology to displace non-renewable electricity generation based on fossil fuels if associated manufacturing costs can be made competitive, there is a tremendous need for low-cost, environmentally benign materials and fabrication processes for preparing high-performance solar cells. In this regard, thin-film heterojunction PVdevices are particularly interesting because of their reduced material utilization and simple cell design. In thin-film devices, a wide range of semiconducting materials can be used as the solar absorber, among which the kesterite Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1-x)4 (CZTSSe) family has been getting significant recent attention due to its earth-abundant and less toxic constituents. Here I will present development of >10% efficiency CZTSSe solar cells based on a novel thin-film deposition approach.