Defects in photovoltaic materials and the origin of failure to dope them

Abstract

I will review the basic physical principles underlying the formation energy of various intrinsic defects in common photovoltaic materials. I then use the above principles to explain why doping of semiconductors is in general, limited and which design principles can be used to circumvent such limits. This work can help design strategies of doping absorber materials as well as explain how TCOs work. Recent results on the surprising stability of polar [112] + (1~1~2~) surfaces of CIS will also be described in this context.