Abou-Ras, D.; Kirchartz, T.: Electron-Beam-Induced Current Measurements of Thin-Film Solar Cells. ACS Applied Energy Materials 2 (2019), p. 6127-6139
10.1021/acsaem.9b01172
Open Access Version
Abstract:
The present tutorial review provides a practical guide to the analysis of semiconductor devices using electron-beam-induced currents (EBIC). The authors focus on cross-sectional EBIC measurements that provide an experimental assay of the efficiency of charge carrier collection in a semiconductor diode. The tutorial covers the fundamental physics of the technique, specimen preparation, data acquisition and numerical simulation and analysis of the experimental data. A key focus is put on application cases from the field of thin-film photovoltaics as well as specific pitfalls that may occur, such as effects occurring in high level injection and at grain boundaries of polycrystalline materials.