Deposition of smooth Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 films from binary multilayers

Hermann, A. M.; Mansour, M; Badri, Vahid; Pinkhasov, B; Gonzales, Christopher R.; Fickett, Fred R.; Calixto, M. E.; Sebastian, P.J.; Marshall, Charles A.; Gillespie, T.

doi:10.1016/s0040-6090(99)00848-2

Cited by 39 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Electrodeposited CdTe PV devices have been successfully processed, reaching near commercial performance. 3 A number of groups have reported electrodeposition-based processing of CuInSe 2 and Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 films, employing a number of approaches: sequential deposition of individual metal films, 4 deposition of various precursors, [5][6][7] and single-step deposition, where all elements are deposited simultaneously. 8 Single-step deposition processes are appealing in order to simplify device manufacture.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling Growth Chemistry and Morphology of Single-Bath Electrodeposited Cu(In,Ga)Se[sub 2] Thin Films for Photovoltaic Application

Calixto

Dobson

McCandless

et al. 2006

J. Electrochem. Soc.

118

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Single-bath electrodeposition of polycrystalline Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 thin films for photovoltaic applications is described. Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 was deposited onto Mo electrodes from low concentration aqueous baths containing CuCl 2 , InCl 3 , GaCl 3 , and H 2 SeO 3 . Buffering the solutions to pH ϳ 2.5 stabilized bath chemistry and improved Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 film composition. Bath concentrations were shown to affect composition of deposited films, with a bath ͓Se 4+ ͔/͓Cu 2+ ͔ ratio of 1.75 required to maintain suitable deposited Se and Cu levels, while ͓In 3+ ͔ could be adjusted to control deposited In and Ga. Deposited films initially exhibited significant cracking, which was prevented by lowering the ͓Se 4+ ͔ in the bath, and contained Cu 2−x Se as secondary phases, resembling cauliflower florets, embedded in the film surfaces. The formation of these secondary phases was overcome by pretreating the Mo electrodes with a short 1 min deposition from the Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 bath. This, coupled with a multipotential deposition regime, led to growth of smooth, compact, crack-free films of near stoichiometric values. Mechanisms of film growth and morphology control are discussed. All as-deposited films exhibit low crystallinity, and for device processing require recrystallization by annealing in an H 2 Se atmosphere. Promising preliminary results of electrodeposited Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 devices are presented.Polycrystalline Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 has exhibited very promising performance for thin film photovoltaic ͑PV͒ application, now exceeding 19% conversion efficiencies at the laboratory scale. 1,2 The best quality devices, hitherto, have been processed using high vacuum based techniques. 2 However, there is an interest in developing deposition techniques that avoid the use of high vacuum, especially when considering scale-up to industrial processing levels. Electrodeposition requires only off-the-shelf, low cost equipment and allows deposition over large areas at low temperature conditions, good control of film thickness, and potentially high utilization of bath species. The high absorption coefficient of Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 ͑ϳ10 5 cm −1 ͒ allows thin films, Ͻ2 m, to be applied to PV devices. Electrodeposited CdTe PV devices have been successfully processed, reaching near commercial performance. 3 A number of groups have reported electrodeposition-based processing of CuInSe 2 and Cu͑In,Ga͒Se 2 films, employing a number of approaches: sequential deposition of individual metal films, 4 deposition of various precursors, 5-7 and single-step deposition, where all elements are deposited simultaneously. 8 Single-step deposition processes are appealing in order to simplify device manufacture. The successful deposition of CuInSe 2 from a single electrochemical bath onto a range of different substrate types has been previously reported, 8-19 and a few groups have attempted to describe bath chemistry and mechanisms of film growth. 9,11,20-22 As-deposited films are generally of low crystallinity, and a post-deposition anneal, often in a selenium-containing atmosphere, ...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling Growth Chemistry and Morphology of Single-Bath Electrodeposited Cu(In,Ga)Se[sub 2] Thin Films for Photovoltaic Application

Calixto

Dobson

McCandless

et al. 2006

J. Electrochem. Soc.

118

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“…As we know, this area is the effective junction area in a device, which is crucial for lowering the dark current and eliminating the number of interface states between the CIS and the window layer per unit area. Therefore, the homogenous and smooth surface is beneficial to the final optoelectric conversion efficiency [25][26][27]. Figure 3 shows the EDS of the CIS film, and Table 1 is the corresponding composition analysis.…”

Section: Preparation Of Cuinse 2 Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

CuInSe2 thin films obtained by pulse-plating electrodeposition technique with novel pulse wave

Wang

Tian

et al. 2010

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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CuInSe 2 films were electrodeposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate in constant current mode using bell-like wave modulated square wave in aqueous solution. The films obtained at different pulse frequencies were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy was used to study the optical properties of these films. The results showed that the chalcopyrite phase CuInSe 2 films with a smooth surface and stoichiometric composition could be obtained at appropriate pulse frequency. The crystallinity of CuInSe 2 films could be further improved after annealing treatment. Despite this, we also found that the films obtained using the pulse-plating electrodeposition technique had a faster deposition rate and better film adhesion ability than that using the traditional CIS electrodeposition technique, which is significant to the low-cost CIS thin film solar cell production. bell-like wave, pulse-plating electrodeposition, constant current, CuInSe 2 , solar cells Citation:Wang X L, Wang G J, Tian B L, et al. CuInSe 2 thin films obtained by pulse-plating electrodeposition technique with novel pulse wave.

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“…In 2 Se 3 /Cu x Se y stacks have been electrodeposited and annealed by Hermann et al . [101] . Additionally this group has managed to incorporate gallium into an indium gallium selenide layer by using solutions saturated in chloride ions to stabilize the gallium [102] .…”

Section: Cu(inga)se 2 Via Stacked Binary Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applications of Electrochemistry in the Fabrication and Characterization of Thin‐Film Solar Cells

Dale

Peter

2010

Advances in Electrochemical Sciences and Engineering

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Deposition of smooth Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 films from binary multilayers

Cited by 39 publications

References 5 publications

Controlling Growth Chemistry and Morphology of Single-Bath Electrodeposited Cu(In,Ga)Se[sub 2] Thin Films for Photovoltaic Application

Controlling Growth Chemistry and Morphology of Single-Bath Electrodeposited Cu(In,Ga)Se[sub 2] Thin Films for Photovoltaic Application

CuInSe2 thin films obtained by pulse-plating electrodeposition technique with novel pulse wave

Applications of Electrochemistry in the Fabrication and Characterization of Thin‐Film Solar Cells

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