Achieving band gap grading of CZTS and CZTSe materials

1. A method for creating band gap grading in an absorber layer, the method comprising the steps of:

growing a reservoir material containing silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge) on a substrate;

forming the absorber layer on the reservoir material, wherein the absorber layer comprises copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), and at least one of sulfur (S) and selenium (Se), and wherein the step of growing the reservoir material on the substrate and the step of forming the absorber layer on the reservoir material are both performed using an in-situ evaporation process without breaking vacuum between the steps of growing the reservoir material and forming the absorber layer such that native oxides are absent from an interface between the reservoir material and the absorber layer; and

annealing the reservoir material and the absorber layer in a chalcogen-containing environment under conditions sufficient to diffuse Si or Ge atoms as a dopant species from the reservoir material into the absorber layer with a concentration gradient to create band gap grading in the absorber layer, wherein the concentration gradient comprises a concentration of the dopant species that peaks at a side of the absorber layer adjacent to the reservoir material and which is graded throughout the absorber layer as a function of a distance d away from the reservoir material, and wherein the annealing step further results in creating the absorber layer having a band gap value at a back of the absorber layer that is from about 0.1 eV to about 0.4 eV greater than a band gap value at a front of the absorber layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conditions comprise a temperature and a duration.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the temperature is from about 500° C. to about 650° C.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the duration is from about 30 seconds to about 10 minutes.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of:

regulating at least one of the temperature and the duration to control the concentration gradient.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

performing a surface cleaning of the reservoir material prior to forming the absorber layer on the reservoir material.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir material is a Si-containing film, and wherein the annealing step is performed to diffuse Si atoms as the dopant species from the reservoir material into the absorber layer with the concentration gradient to create band gap grading in the absorber layer.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the absorber layer has a thickness of from about 500 nm to about 2 μm.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of:

regulating the thickness of the absorber layer to control the concentration gradient.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the reservoir material remains on the substrate after the annealing step has been performed.

11. A method of forming a photovoltaic device, the method comprising the steps of:

growing a reservoir material containing Si or Ge on a substrate;

forming an absorber layer on the reservoir material, wherein the absorber layer comprises Cu, Zn, Sn, and at least one of S and Se, and wherein the step of growing the reservoir material on the substrate and the step of forming the absorber layer on the reservoir material are both performed using an in-situ evaporation process without breaking vacuum between the steps of growing the reservoir material and forming the absorber layer such that native oxides are absent from an interface between the reservoir material and the absorber layer;

annealing the reservoir material and the absorber layer in a chalcogen-containing environment under conditions sufficient to diffuse Si or Ge atoms as a dopant species from the reservoir material into the absorber layer with a concentration gradient to create band gap grading in the absorber layer, wherein the concentration gradient comprises a concentration of the dopant species that peaks at a side of the absorber layer adjacent to the reservoir material and which is graded throughout the absorber layer as a function of a distance d away from the reservoir material, and wherein the annealing step further results in creating the absorber layer having a band gap value at a back of the absorber layer that is from about 0.1 eV to about 0.4 eV greater than a band gap value at a front of the absorber layer;

forming a buffer layer on the absorber layer; and

forming a transparent front contact on the buffer layer.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the conditions comprise a temperature and a duration.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the temperature is from about 500° C. to about 650° C.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the duration is from about 30 seconds to about 10 minutes.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the step of:

regulating at least one of the temperature and the duration to control the concentration gradient.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising the step of:

performing a surface cleaning of the reservoir material prior to forming the absorber layer on the reservoir material.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the absorber layer has a thickness of from about 500 nm to about 2 μm.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising the step of:

regulating the thickness of the absorber layer to control the concentration gradient.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein

the reservoir material is grown on the substrate to a thickness of from about 0.2 μm to about 3.0 μm.