Structural defects in thin film solar-cell absorbers may create in-gap states that act as recombination centers for the photogenerated carriers and enhance their recombination rate. This will affect the photo-transport properties of the films and consequently the performance of the corresponding solar cells. Therefore, a controlled deposition process that is able to diminish some of the structural defects is of high interest. In this presentation we will discuss the influence of the deposition procedure on the annihilation of planar defects in the film and their influence on its photo-transport properties. In particular, we applied temperature-dependent and intensity-dependent photoconductivity measurements to study the photo-transport properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ films that were deposited by co-evaporation process at low temperature (<450 C^o). We find that (under these conditions) there is a strong annihilation of planar defects during an intermediate Cu-rich stage of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin film absorbers. Our experimental results and their interpretation via Shockley-Read-Hall model calculations indicate a correlation between the presence of planar defects and the formation of a shallow recombination level. They also suggest that Na eliminates deep recombination centers and thus increases the lifetime of photo-generated charge carriers, an effect that is beneficial for enhancing the solar-cell performance.