Annealing effects on individual loss mechanisms in CuInSe2 solar cells

Detailed measurements were made on CuInSe₂ solar cells following thermal anneals in air at progressively higher temperatures. For evaporated cells there is an initial improvement in many of the individual measured parameters. The common explanation is a decrease in compensating defect states. After higher temperature anneals, however, compensating state densities show a dramatic rise, resulting in large forward currents and small photocurrents, which effectively terminate the photovoltaic response.