Low-cost system for micrometer-resolution solar cell characterization by light beam-induced current mapping

Light-beam induced current (LBIC) mapping is an increasingly utilized characterization technique for laboratory-scale as well as industrial-scale solar cells, which measures the local solar cell photocurrent by point illumination. This contribution demonstrates the design and testing of an LBIC mapping device capable of measuring LBIC maps of solar cells using inexpensive materials. With a spatial resolution of 4??m and an auto-focused beam spot size of about 2??m, obtained from a standard CD/DVD pickup, high-resolution LBIC maps of thin-film solar cells are obtained. The system was demonstrated by measuring LBIC maps on thin-film solar cells, revealing significant, micrometer-sized photocurrent heterogeneities that are otherwise unseen when using typical commercial LBIC systems with lower resolution.