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  Abou-Ras, D.; Nikolaeva, A.; Krause, M.; Korte, L.; Stange, H.; Mainz, R.; Sanli, E.S.; Aken, P.A. van; Sugaya, T.; Nishinaga, J.: Optoelectronic Inactivity of Dislocations in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin Films. Physica Status Solidi - Rapid Research Letters 15 (2021), p. 210042/1-5

10.1002/pssr.202100042
Open Access Version

Abstract:
High-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells are based on polycrystalline CIGS absorber layers, which contain grain boundaries, stacking faults, and dislocations. While planar defects in CIGS layers have been investigated extensively, little is still known about the impact of dislocations on optoelectronic properties of CIGS absorbers. Herein, evidence for an optoelectronic inactivity of dislocations in these thin films is given, in contrast to the situation at grain boundaries. This unique behavior is explained by the extensive elemental redistribution detected around dislocation cores, which is connected with the dislocation strain field, probably leading to a shift of defect states toward the band edges.