Pilot-scale manufacture of Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ films on a flexible polymer substrate

Hanket, Gregory M.; Singh, Udai P.; Eser, E.; Shafarman, William N.; Birkmire, Robert W.

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2002.1190628

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Upgraded UF CIS deposition system to enable fabrication of CIGS. While maintaining close ties with the Institute for Energy Conversion (IEC) at the University of Delaware, who have recently reported progress in several key areas of CIGS research (including deposition of high-performance cells onto lightweight polyamide substrates [Hanket et al 2002]), we've also established a critical industry partnership with Daystar Technologies, whose founder (John Tuttle) has reported record efficiencies approaching 19% in thin-film CIGS devices. Preliminary contact has also been established with Global Solar Industries, who has developed laser-scribing technology for fabricating integrated PV modules comprised of side-byside series-connected cells, similar to the proposed CIGS photoelectrode structure.…”

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confidence: 99%

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Rocheleau

Miller

1997

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

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In this year's Phase II photoelectrochemical hydrogen production research at the University of Hawaii, we have continued our emphasis on developing high-performance multi-junction hydrogen photoelectrodes based on low cost semiconductor and catalyst films. Significant progress was made in the advancement of amorphous silicon/germanium and copper indium gallium diselenide materials for solid-state photojunctions, and great strides were made in the research and development of the 'hybrid' photoelectrode concept, including important initial work on nanostructured wide-bandgap semiconductor films for the photoelectrochemical interface, particularly iron oxide. A new partnership was established with Duquesne University to take advantage of their demonstrated capabilities in fabrication of nanostructured films of photoactive Fe 2 O 3 deposited by the spray-pyrolysis method; At the same time, an in-house investigation was initiated into the photoelectrochemical properties of reactively-sputtered iron oxide films. The Phase II work of this project is progressing on-schedule: To date, initial sets of prototype hybrid devices based on tandem amorphous silicon/germanium coated with corrosionresistant ITO and non-photoactive Fe 2 O 3 films (sputtered at UH) have been made, and prototypes using photoactive (deposited at Duquesne University) are currently under fabrication. Stable hydrogen photo-production was demonstrated in the hybrid prototypes fabricated with the sputtered iron oxide, but a voltage bias assist of 1V was necessary. Near term plans include testing of the initial set of devices being fabricated with Duquesne's photo-active films for unassisted photo-production. We plan to follow analysis of the test results by a redesign of a second generation prototype with optimized interface and optical properties, for fabrication and testing by the end of the contract period.

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confidence: 99%

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Rocheleau

Miller

1997

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

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“…Furthermore, sodium profile corresponding to NaF source temperature of 820°C is rather inexplicable. But, in summary, within the range of NaF source temperature used there is Na incorporation into the Cu(InGa)Se 2 between 4x10 19 to 2x10 20 at/cm 3 . The Na levels in the CIGS films scale well with source temperatures.…”

Section: De-fg36-08go18068mentioning

confidence: 90%

“…However polyimide films can not be used at temperatures above 450 ºC (3) , they require an extrinsic source of Na, and are relatively expensive. SS substrates are inexpensive and can be used at temperatures as high as 600 ºC, but they won't allow monolithic interconnection construction (being electrically conducting), they are a source of contaminants and their surface roughness is a major source of shunt losses in the devices.…”

Section: De-fg36-08go18068mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this case, in addition to the device performances, the composition of the absorbers has been measured (Table IV). It should be pointed out that Cu(InGa)Se 2 films deposited in the stationary system have uniform depth composition while the ones deposited in the in-line system always show a gradient in Ga and In through the depth (3,4,6) . As such compositions measured by energy More precise characterization of the chemistry and of the interdiffusion of trace amounts of impurities from SLG and SS/SBR substrates were characterized by the secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) at NREL.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a Low Cost Insulated Foil Substrate for Cu(InGaSe)2 Photovoltaics

Eser¹

2012

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe present project validated the use of stainless steel flexible substrate coated with silicone-based resin dielectric, developed by Dow Corning Corporation, for Cu(InGa)Se 2 based photovoltaics. The project's driving force was the high performance of Cu(InGa)Se 2 based photovoltaics coupled with potential cost reduction that could be achieved with dielectric coated SS web substrate.First, 430SS was shown to be the preferred substrate based on the suitable thermal expansion coefficient. However, randomly distributed shunt paths through the siliconebased resin had to be burned with voltage pulses for module fabrication. Reducing the density of the shunt paths through changes in the process and locating and burning the remaining ones has resolved the issue for the project. However this process of shunt burning may be problematic in a manufacturing environment.On vapor deposited films of Cu(InGa)Se 2, small area cell efficiency of more than 15% has been obtained with Cu(InGa)Se 2 thickness as small as 1.2 m. For Cu(InGa)(SSe) 2 films obtained by precursor selenization, efficiencies of more than 12% were demonstrated. However, in this process, transitioning from glass substrate to an SS based one is believed to require a different and robust approach.Uniformity of the device performance was shown on a 6 feet roll-to-roll PVD deposited Cu(InGa)Se 2 . The central 4 ft of the web, when sampled every foot, provided devices with high efficiencies of more than 12% with Cu(InGa)Se 2 thickness of 1.4 m.Throughput up to 3 and 6 inches/min web speeds resulted in efficiencies in the range of 9 to 11% with an absorber thickness of around 1 m.The work on module fabrication was challenging in some respects. All laser monolithic integration has been a difficult problem that requires further work and more innovative solutions.

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“…The quality of the Cu(InGa)Se 2 films has been demonstrated to give an average efficiency of 9.2% for 0.56 cm 2 cells for a population of 44 cells distributed over a 60-in.-long and 6-in.-wide polyimide web. 6 However, the substrate translation speed is <1 in./min and the deposition runtime is typically 2 h. Scaleup of the process to accommodate wider substrates and longer runtimes, which is essential to obtain high throughput and, hence, commercially viable production, has proven difficult. According to one estimate, solar cell modules with an area of 2 ft × 4 ft must be produced at the rate of one module every 2.5 min to be cost-effective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

Mukati¹,

Ogunnaike²,

Eser³

et al. 2009

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Even though rapid advances have been made in improving Cu(InGa)Se 2 thin-film-based solar cell efficiencies, the breakthroughs have been limited to the laboratory scale. Most commercially viable thin-film technologies reside at the premanufacturing development stage and scaleup has proven to be much more difficult than expected. Elemental in-line evaporation on flexible substrates in a roll-to-roll configuration is a commercially attractive process for the manufacture of large-area CuInSe 2 -based photovoltaics. At the University of Delaware's Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC), such a process is being investigated, at the pilot scale, for a polyimide web substrate. The process works well for 6-in.-wide substrates and for short deposition runtimes. However, a commercially viable process is required to produce large-area, high-quality films at a muchhigher throughput. Specifically, the desired film thickness (∼2 µm) and composition uniformity must be achieved continuously and reproducibly on large-area (12-in.-wide) substrates at translation speeds (∼1 ft/ min) much higher than those currently used in pilot-scale processes. Although achievement of the desired film thickness and composition setpoints is best addressed by proper control system design, the film thickness uniformity is determined by the source design and individual nozzle effusion rates. The nozzle effusion rates, in turn, are dependent on the melt surface temperature profile and, thus, on the source design itself. Therefore, proper source design is critical in achieving film thickness uniformity. We have identified two modeling requirements for effective thermal evaporation source design: (i) a detailed three-dimensional thermal model of the evaporation source, to predict the melt surface temperature accurately, and (ii) a nozzle effusion model, to predict the effusion rate and the vapor flux distribution for a given nozzle geometry (length and diameter), melt surface temperature, and evaporant. To meet the first requirement, we have developed a first-principles three-dimensional electrothermal model using COMSOL Multiphysics software; the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method has been used for effusion modeling. In this paper, which is the first of a two-part series, we present the details of the two models and their experimental validation.

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Pilot-scale manufacture of Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ films on a flexible polymer substrate

Cited by 9 publications

References 3 publications

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Development of a Low Cost Insulated Foil Substrate for Cu(InGaSe)2 Photovoltaics

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

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Pilot-scale manufacture of Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ films on a flexible polymer substrate

Cited by 9 publications

References 3 publications

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen: Engineering loss analysis

Development of a Low Cost Insulated Foil Substrate for Cu(InGaSe)2 Photovoltaics

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se2Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

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Product

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Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development