{rfName}
Po

Indexed in

License and use

Icono OpenAccess

Citations

246

Altmetrics

Grant support

This research was supported by the H2020 Programme under the project INFINITE-CELL (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017-777968). The authors from IREC and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid acknowledge funding from the SpanishMinistry of Science, Innovation and Universities by WINCOST(ENE2016-80788-C5-1-R), and by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF; FEDER Programa Competitivitat de Catalunya 2007-2013). The authors from IREC and the University of Barcelona belong to the SEMS(Solar Energy Materials and Systems) Consolidated Research Group of the 'Generalitat de Catalunya' (Ref. 2017 SGR862). MD gratefully acknowledges support from the Hydrogen Materials-Advanced Research Consortium(HyMARC), established as part of the Energy Materials Network under the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOEEERE), FuelCell Technologies Office, under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308.

Analysis of institutional authors

Manuel Merino, JoseAuthor

Share

October 20, 2020
Publications
>
Review
Sí

Point defects, compositional fluctuations, and secondary phases in non-stoichiometric kesterites

Publicated to:JPHYS ENERGY. 2 (1): - 2020-01-01 2(1), DOI: 10.1088/2515-7655/ab4a25

Authors: Schorr, Susan; Gurieva, Galina; Guc, Maxim; Dimitrievska, Mirjana; Perez-Rodriguez, Alejandro; Izquierdo-Roca, Victor; Schnohr, Claudia S.; Kim, Juran; Jo, William; Manuel Merino, Jose;

Affiliations

‎ Catalonia Inst Energy Res IREC, Jardins Dones Negre 1, Sant Adria De Besos 08930, Spain - Author
‎ Ewha Womans Univ, Dept Phys, Seoul 03760, South Korea - Author
‎ Free Univ Berlin, Inst Geosci, Malteserstr 74-100, D-12449 Berlin, Germany - Author
‎ Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin Fuer Materialien & Energ, Dept Struct & Dynam Energy Mat, Hahn Meitner Pl 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany - Author
‎ Inst Appl Phys, Academiei Str 5, ND-2023 Kishinev 5, Moldova - Author
‎ Natl Inst Stand & Technol, NIST Ctr Neutron Res, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 USA - Author
‎ Natl Renewable Energy Lab, Golden, CO 80401 USA - Author
‎ Univ Autonoma Madrid, Fac Sci, Ciudad Univ Cantoblanco C, Madrid 28049, Spain - Author
‎ Univ Barcelona, Dept Engn Elect & Biomed, IN2UB, C Marti & Franques 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain - Author
‎ Univ Leipzig, Felix Bloch Inst Solid State Phys, Linnestr 5, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany - Author
See more

Abstract

The efficiency of kesterite-based solar cells is limited by various non-ideal recombination paths, amongst others by a high density of defect states and by the presence of binary or ternary secondary phases within the absorber layer. Pronounced compositional variations and secondary phase segregation are indeed typical features of non-stoichiometric kesterite materials. Certainly kesterite-based thin film solar cells with an off-stoichiometric absorber layer composition, especially Cu-poor/Zn-rich, achieved the highest efficiencies, but deviations from the stoichiometric composition lead to the formation of intrinsic point defects (vacancies, anti-sites, and interstitials) in the kesterite-type material. In addition, a non-stoichiometric composition is usually associated with the formation of an undesirable side phase (secondary phases). Thus the correlation between off-stoichiometry and intrinsic point defects as well as the identification and quantification of secondary phases and compositional fluctuations in non-stoichiometric kesterite materials is of great importance for the understanding and rational design of solar cell devices. This paper summarizes the latest achievements in the investigation of identification and quantification of intrinsic point defects, compositional fluctuations, and secondary phases in non-stoichiometric kesterite-type materials.

Keywords

Conversion efficiencyCu2znsnse4 thin-filmsDiffractionGrain-boundariesKelvin probe forceKesteritesOptical-propertiesPoint defectsRaman spectroscopyRaman-scattering analysisSecondary phasesSingle-crystalsSolar-cellsStoichiometry deviationsStructural-characterizationVibrational propertiesX-ray-diffraction

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal JPHYS ENERGY due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 88/335, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Materials Science, Multidisciplinary. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q4 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Energy (Miscellaneous).

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 4.92. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 12.79 (source consulted: Dimensions Aug 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-08-05, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 109

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-05:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 116 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Germany; Republic of Korea; United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (MERINO ALVAREZ, JOSE MANUEL).