title: Solution-Processed Ag Nanowires + PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Electrode for Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Thin-Film Solar Cells.
abstract: To reduce the cost of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells while maximizing the efficiency, we report the use of an Ag nanowires (NWs) + poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (
  PSS) hybrid transparent electrode, which was deposited using all-solution-processed, low-cost, scalable methods. This is the first demonstration of an Ag NWs +
  PSS transparent electrode applied to CIGS solar cells. The spin-coated 10-nm-thick
  PSS conducting polymer layer in our hybrid electrode functioned as a filler of empty space of an electrostatically sprayed Ag NW network. Coating of
  PSS on the Ag NW network resulted in an increase in the short-circuit current from 15.4 to 26.5 mA/cm(2), but the open-circuit voltage and shunt resistance still needed to be improved. The limited open-circuit voltage was found to be due to interfacial recombination that is due to the ineffective hole-blocking ability of the CdS film. To suppress the interfacial recombination between Ag NWs and the CdS film, a Zn(S,O,OH) film was introduced as a hole-blocking layer between the CdS film and Ag NW network. The open-circuit voltage of the cell sharply improved from 0.35 to 0.6 V, which resulted in the best cell efficiency of 11.6%.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering and §Graduate School of Energy Environment Water and Sustainability, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Donghyeop
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering and §Graduate School of Energy Environment Water and Sustainability, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Taegeon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering and §Graduate School of Energy Environment Water and Sustainability, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Tae
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering and §Graduate School of Energy Environment Water and Sustainability, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: Ag nanowire; Ag nanowires + PEDOT:PSS hybrid transparent electrode; Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell; Zn(S,O,OH); hole-blocking layer; solution process