CIS film growth by metallic ink coating and selenization

Towards low-cost, environmentally friendly printed chalcopyrite and kesterite solar cells

“…The process was further improved by coating intermetallic Cu-In particles with a subsequent selenization process. Basol et al 109 and Norsworthy et al 111 reported solar cells with efficiencies of up to 10% using sub-micron sized Cu-In alloy particles prepared by a melt atomization technique. The as-deposited precursor layers comprised of Cu 11 In 9 and CuIn 2 particles were selenized in the presence of H 2 Se to obtain a dense chalcopyrite CuInSe 2 lm.…”

Non‐vacuum methods for formation of Cu(In, Ga)(Se, S)2 thin film photovoltaic absorbers

“…Significant improvements were obtained by the use of CuIn alloy powders which are more easily milled for size reduction and more resistant to oxidation during handling than elemental powders 144. After annealing with H 2 Se, formation of a dense crust over a poorly sintered bulk was again reported 145, though compressing the alloy precursor prior to sintering was shown to increase the relative crust thickness, as observed for atomically mixed selenide precursor layers 136. Despite the inhomogeneous sintering, cells of 10–11% efficiency and 7% efficiency sub‐modules were reported.…”

Physical properties of highly crystalline CIS layer prepared using single phase electrodeposition and low temperature RTP annealing

“…The as electrodeposited CIS pre cursor material is amorphous (nanocrystallized), thus an annealing step is necessary to promote grain growth and consequently the formation of effective absorbers. Films annealed in vacuum, nitro gen or argon atmospheres usually present high levels of Se va cancies because of the low vapor pressure of Selenium, [15,16]. To replace the lost amount of selenium and adjust the stoichiometry of the film, a thermal annealing in Se atmosphere (selenisation) was investigated [17,18].…”