Record efficiency in chalcopyrite-based solar cells Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 is achieved using a gallium gradient to increase the bandgap of the absorber toward the back side. Although this structure has successfully reduced recombination at the back contact, we demonstrate that in industrial absorbers grown in the pilot line of Avancis, the back part is a source of non-radiative recombination. Depth-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal two main radiative recombination paths at 1.04 eV and 1.5–1.6 eV, attributed to two phases of low and high bandgap material, respectively. Instead of a continuous change in the bandgap throughout the thickness of the absorber, we propose a model where discrete bandgap phases interlace, creating an apparent gradient. Cathodoluminescence and Raman scattering spectroscopy confirm this result. Additionally, deep defects associated with the high gap phase reduce the absorber's performance. Etching away the back part of the absorber leads to an increase of one order of magnitude in the PL intensity, i.e., 60 meV in quasi-Fermi level splitting. Non-radiative voltage losses correlate linearly with the relative contribution of the high energy PL peak, suggesting that reducing the high gap phase could increase the open circuit voltage by up to 180 mV.
