Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post consumer waste.However the lengthy thermal process used in that tool is not viewed as a commercially scalable process, primarily due to its extended process time. Therefore the effort to use an RTP process was launched at the beginning of the project in order to develop a faster absorber formation process for eventual transfer to Solexant's pilot process line.
Characterization ToolsSolexant has an array of analytical tools in-house that were used extensively throughout this project effort. These tools include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron beam induced current (EBIC), electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), white-light interferometry, Infrared Thermography, optical absorption spectroscopy, xray fluorescence (XRF), capacitance-voltage (C-V), current-voltage (I-V) and light-biased quantum efficiency (QE). We had collaborative efforts with NREL's Measurement and Characterization group for lock-in Infrared Thermography, SEM, focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM and EDS, STEM, EBIC, cathodoluminescence (CL) and Raman.
CuIn(1−x)GaxSe2 (CIGS) thin films with Ga ratio, x, ranging from 0.55 to 0.75 were grown on Mo/glass substrates by the selenization of metallic precursors in a H2Se atmosphere. Without a postdeposition annealing step the films were found to have a highly graded composition that became Ga rich near the absorber/Mo interface. A high-temperature annealing step promoted diffusion of Ga to the surface region of the films. These absorbers were used to fabricate glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS/ZnO thin-film solar cells with open-circuit voltages ranging from 0.4 to 0.74 V and efficiencies approaching 12%. Devices, as well as the absorber layers, were characterized.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.