0000000000222315
AUTHOR
Janos Kiss
Theoretical Study on the Diffusion Mechanism of Cd in the Cu-Poor Phase of CuInSe2 Solar Cell Material
We have employed first-principles static and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations with semilocal and screened-exchange hybrid density functionals to study the diffusion of Cd in bulk CuIn5Se8, a copper-poor ordered vacancy compound of CuInSe2. The diffusion mechanism and the underlying kinetics/energetics were investigated by combining ab initio metadynamics simulations and nudged elastic band (NEB) calculations. We found that the migration of Cd occurs via a kick-out of Cu atoms, assisted by the pristine vacancies that are constitutive of this compound, and follows a double-hump energy profile. The rate-limiting step has a barrier of about 1 eV at 0 K but reduces to 0.3 eV at 850 K, pointi…
First-principles investigation of the bulk and low-index surfaces ofMoSe2
In the framework of density functional theory, the geometry, electronic structure, and magnetic properties of the bulk and low index surfaces of $\mathrm{Mo}{\mathrm{Se}}_{2}$ have been studied. We have carried out calculations with various exchange-correlation functionals to select one which is able to describe the van der Waals (vdW) interactions and gives the best geometry compared with experiments. The inclusion of the vdW forces, however, does not guarantee a reliable description for the geometry of this compound: some vdW functionals strongly overestimate the interlayer distance, similar to GGA functionals. Our investigation shows that the recently introduced optB86b-vdW functional yi…
Incorporation of Li dopant into Cu2ZnSnSe4 photovoltaic absorber: hybrid-functional calculations
We have studied the formation of Li extrinsic defects in CuZnSnSe by first-principles hybrid functional calculations. Li atoms in the Cu site (Li) and Li atoms in the Se site (Li) are the most and the least stable point defect, respectively. The formation energies of two Li interstitial defects with different numbers of nearest neighbors are the same. These interstitial point defects act as a donor but do not create gap states. Formation of the acceptor point defects (Li and Li) is less likely in p-type CuZnSnSe compared with n-type CuZnSnSe. In contrast to Li which does not create gap states, the formation of Li creates two charge transition levels in the middle of the bandgap which might …
Hybrid-Functional Calculations on the Incorporation of Na and K Impurities into the CuInSe 2 and CuIn 5 Se 8 Solar-Cell Materials
International audience; We have studied the energetics, atomic, and electronic structure of Na and K point defects, as well as the (Na-Na), (K-K), and (Na-K) dumbbells in CuInSe2 and CuIn5Se8 solar cell materials by hybrid functional calculations. We found that although Na and K behaves somewhat similar; there is a qualitative difference between the inclusion of Na and K impurities. Namely, Na will be mostly incorporated into CuInSe2 and CuIn5Se8 either as an interstitial defect coordinated by cations, or two Na impurities will form (Na-Na) dumbbells in the Cu sublattice. In contrast to Na, K impurities are less likely to form interstitial defects. Instead, it is more preferable to accommod…
Iron-based Heusler compounds Fe2YZ: Comparison with theoretical predictions of the crystal structure and magnetic properties
The present work reports on the new soft ferromagnetic Heusler phases Fe${}_{2}$NiGe, Fe${}_{2}$CuGa, and Fe${}_{2}$CuAl, which in previous theoretical studies have been predicted to exist in a tetragonal Heusler structure. Together with the known phases Fe${}_{2}$CoGe and Fe${}_{2}$NiGa these materials have been synthesized and characterized by powder x-ray diffraction, ${}^{57}$Fe M\"ossbauer spectroscopy, superconducting quantum interference device, and energy-dispersive x-ray measurements. In particular M\"ossbauer spectroscopy was used to monitor the degree of local atomic order/disorder and to estimate magnetic moments at the Fe sites from the hyperfine fields. It is shown that in con…
Hybrid functional calculations on the Na and K impurities in substitutional and interstitial positions in Cu2ZnSnSe4
We studied the energetics, atomic and electronic structure of Na and K extrinsic defects in Cu2ZnSnSe4 by ab initio calculations using the HSE06 hybrid functional. Our results show that (i) among all substitutional positions, the Cu-site is the most favorable position for both Na and K. (ii) The tetrahedrally coordinated interstitial site has a lower formation energy than the octahedrally coordinated interstitial site. (iii) Based on the band structure calculations we can conclude, Se-related defects lead to the formation of defect states within the band gap.
A theoretical investigation on the Cd doping of Cu-depleted CuInSe<inf>2</inf> materials
Because of their outstanding characteristics and affordable price, polycrystalline thin film solar cells based on CuIn 1−x Ga x Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layer have emerged to be one of the most promising materials for photovoltaic applications [1–2]. To further enhance the efficiency of these solar cells much effort is spent on the in-depth investigation of the production methods. However, the effect of structural defects and dopants upon the macroscopic properties and morphology of epitaxially grown CIGS films is not yet fully understood [3]. More importantly, it is well established that the best cells can be prepared by growing the CIGS absorber layer under Cu-poor conditions [4]. Thus, it is…
Reducing the Schottky barrier height at the MoSe2/Mo(110) interface in thin-film solar cells: Insights from first-principles calculations
Abstract We report on first-principles calculations of the properties of the MoSe2/Mo(110) interface. Due to mismatch between the lattice parameters of the two structures, different patterns can form at the interface. We have studied the formation energy and the band alignment of six patterns for the MoSe2 (0001)/Mo(110) interface and one pattern for the MoSe2 (11 2 0)/Mo(110) interface. The MoSe2 (11 2 0)/Mo(110) interface is more stable than the MoSe 2 (0001)/Mo(110) interface and in contrast to MoSe2 (0001)/Mo(110), no Schottky barrier forms at MoSe2 (11 2 0)/Mo(110). Doping with Na modifies the band alignment at the interfaces. The Schottky barrier height decreases, provided that a Na a…
Theoretical study of Zn and Cd interstitials and substitutional interstitials in CuInSe2 via hybrid functional calculations
We have investigated the formation of Zn and Cd interstitials in the CuInSe2 solar cell material via density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations by employing the HSE06 hybrid functional. The computed formation energies for Zn interstitials were in the range of 2.09-2.68 e V, and in the range of 2.04-2.25 eV for substitutional interstitials. In constrast, the formation energies of Cd interstitials and substitutional interstitials were between 1.85-2.75 eV and 2.41-2.64 eV, respectively. Thus, these results indicate, that Cd interstitials are more likely to be formed than Zn interstitials, and that in case of Zn inclusion into CuInSe2 Zn atoms will prefer to adopt substitutional interstitial…