Low temperature pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering technique for single phase β-In2S3 buffer layers for solar cell applications

Karthikeyan, Sreejith; Hill, Arthur E.; Pilkington, R.D.

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.01.147

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…We indicated the tetragonal β-phase for In 2 S 3 . This result is in accordance with structural investigations on rf-sputtered In x S y layers reported by other groups [14,15,23], but also for structural investigations on evaporated In x S y layers [20,24]. In contrast, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed nanocrystalline structures for our oxygen-containing CBD-In x (O,S) y [25] and sputtered In x (O,S) y buffer layers deposited from an In 2 (O 0.25 S 0.75 ) 3 target [26] at the CIGS/buffer interface in the complete device.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…This trend with increasing temperature was also observed by other groups for sputtered In x S y layers [17,18,28]. In contrast, Karthikeyan et al reported an opposite trend as found for their In x S y deposited by pulsed direct magnetron sputtering [23]. From theoretical density calculations there is only a very small difference between direct and indirect transitions in β-In 2 S 3 [29,30].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

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Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

et al. 2020

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Indium sulfide (InxSy)—besides CdS and Zn(O,S)—is already used as a buffer layer in chalcopyrite-type thin-film solar cells and modules. We discuss the influence of the substrate temperature during very fast magnetron sputtering of InxSy buffer layers on the interface formation and the performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. The substrate temperature was increased from room temperature up to 240 °C, and the highest power conversion efficiencies were obtained at a temperature plateau around 200 °C, with the best values around 15.3%. Industrially relevant in-line co-evaporated polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber layers were used, which yield solar cell efficiencies of up to 17.1% in combination with a solution-grown CdS buffer. The chemical composition of the InxSy buffer as well as of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2/InxSy interface was analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Changes from homogenous and stoichiometric In2S3 layers deposited at RT to inhomogenous and more sulfur-rich and indium-deficient compositions for higher temperatures were observed. This finding is accompanied with a pronounced copper depletion at the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber surface, and a sodium accumulation in the InxSy buffer and at the absorber/buffer interface. These last two features seem to be the origin for achieving the highest conversion efficiencies at substrate temperatures around 200 °C.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

et al. 2020

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“…1g and the calculated particle size using the Sheer formula is in good agreement with the measured size from the 400 plane of HRTEM image. Figure 1h shows Raman spectrum of the In 2 S 3 QDs with typical peaks at 304 cm −1 and 930 cm −1 [19]. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed on four randomly selected In 2 S 3 QDs, marked as A, B, C, and D as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In2S3 Quantum Dots: Preparation, Properties and Optoelectronic Application

Tang

Zhao

et al. 2019

Nanoscale Res Lett

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Low-dimensional semiconductors exhibit remarkable performances in many device applications because of their unique physical, electrical, and optical properties. In this paper, we report a novel and facile method to synthesize In 2 S 3 quantum dots (QDs) at atmospheric pressure and room temperature conditions. This involves the reaction of sodium sulfide with indium chloride and using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a surfactant to produce In 2 S 3 QDs with excellent crystal quality. The properties of the as-prepared In 2 S 3 QDs were investigated and photodetectors based on the QDs were also fabricated to study the use of the material in optoelectronic applications. The results show that the detectivity of the device stabilizes at ~ 10 13 Jones at room temperature under 365 nm ultraviolet light irradiation at reverse bias voltage.

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“…For the In 2 S 3 -HT (25 nm) sample a much lower V OC and short circuit current (J SC ) value was recorded with a small difference in FF as compared to the 85 nm In 2 S 3 device. The diode ideality factor calculated from the ln(J) -V curve was found to be as high as 6.62, which was probably due to the low shunting resistance of 71.02 Ω.cm 2 recorded for the best performing cell with efficiency 13.6%. A similar annealing treatment is also required for CBD and thermally evaporated buffer layers to suppress the interfacial recombination due to presence of defect states formed at the heterointerface.…”

Section: Device Characterizationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…It has been observed that the bandgap of In 2 S 3 varies with the employed deposition technique and the S/In stoichiometric ratio. A detailed study on the nature of bandto-band transition in In 2 S 3 has been performed by Sterner et al 5 In a recent study by Karthikeyan et al, 6 a direct bandgap of 2.77 eV has been obtained for sputtered In 2 S 3 which is higher than that of CdS (2.4 eV). 7 Higher direct band gap | 479 SONI et al…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sputtering as a viable route for In₂S₃ buffer layer deposition in high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells

Soni

Raghuwanshi

Wuerz

et al. 2019

Energy Science & Engineering

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Alternative buffer layers in CIGSe are deposited mainly using chemical bath deposition because of its benefits like simplicity, good film quality and surface/step coverage. All the layers in CIGSe cell stack such as back contact, absorber and window layers are deposited by vacuum-deposition methods such as coevaporation, sputtering, and sometimes thermal evaporation, except for the buffer layer. Therefore, in the present work we demonstrate the feasibility to deposit In 2 S 3 by RF magnetron sputtering reaching cell efficiencies of 13.6%, which is the highest value available for sputtered In 2 S 3 in literature to date. Absorber surface damage and nonuniform buffer layer thickness are the primary limitations when using sputtering, and hence need to be eliminated for reaching reasonable cell efficiencies. We studied the extent of sputter induced damage on CIGSe absorber as well as the sputtering-and annealing-induced intermixing phenomenon at the In 2 S 3 /Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 interface at the subnanometer level using atom probe tomography. We have also shown that a post deposition annealing not only significantly improves the crystallinity of In 2 S 3 , but also recovers the surface damage caused by sputter-induced intermixing resulting in an improved p-n Junction quality (as shown by the electron beam induced current investigations), and substantially improves cell efficiency. The present work opens a new way for designing efficient and industry-compatible CIGSe cells using sputter-deposited Cdfree buffer layers. Moreover, this work clearly demonstrates that this novel and fully vacuum-deposited CIGSe cell meets the standard requirements, in terms of chemistry, structure, and electrical performance of a working cell for the PV industry.

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Low temperature pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering technique for single phase β-In2S3 buffer layers for solar cell applications

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

In2S3 Quantum Dots: Preparation, Properties and Optoelectronic Application

Sputtering as a viable route for In₂S₃ buffer layer deposition in high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells

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Low temperature pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering technique for single phase β-In2S3 buffer layers for solar cell applications

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

Influence of Substrate Temperature during InxSy Sputtering on Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Buffer Interface Properties and Solar Cell Performance

In2S3 Quantum Dots: Preparation, Properties and Optoelectronic Application

Sputtering as a viable route for In2S3 buffer layer deposition in high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

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Product

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Sputtering as a viable route for In₂S₃ buffer layer deposition in high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells