Photovoltaic Properties of CuGaSe sub 2 Homodiodes

CuGaSe sub 2 -homodiodes were prepared by diffusion of Sb into n-type material. Total area solar energy conversion efficiencies up to 9.4% were obtained for standard solar illumination (air mass 1.5 / AM1.5). Moreover, the analysis of illuminated and dark current-voltage characteristics revealed reduced recombination losses compared to "conventional" ZnO/CdS/CuGaSe sub 2 diodes, leading to filling factors exceeding 70%. Hence, the use of homodiodes is very promising for efficient solar energy conversion on wide-bandgap Cu-III-VI sub 2 chalcopyrites.