Process parameter impact on properties of sputtered large-area Mo bilayers for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Badgujar, Amol C.; Dhage, Sanjay R.; Joshi, Shrikant V.

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2015.04.046

Cited by 38 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The results indicated that the copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) solar cell had the maximum photo-conversion efficiency of 12.83%. Badgujar et al, [14] investigated the effects of sputtering powers and argon gas flow rates on the properties of Mo bilayer films prepared by DC/DC magnetron sputtering. The results showed that better crystallinity, reflectance and electrical conductivity were obtained at higher sputtering power and lower argon gas flow rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

2019

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Most of the molybdenum (Mo) bilayer films are deposited by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at the bottom and the top layer (DC/DC). However, the deposition of Mo bilayer film by radio frequency (RF) Mo bottom layer and DC Mo top layer magnetron sputtering has been less studied by researchers. In this paper, the bottom layer of Mo bilayer film was deposited by RF magnetron sputtering to maintain its good adhesion and high reflectance, and the top layer was deposited by DC magnetron sputtering to obtain good conductivity (RF/DC). Generally, the bottom layer sputtering pressure is relatively random, in this paper, the effects of the bottom layer RF sputtering pressures on the microstructures and properties of Mo bilayer films were first studied in detail. Next, in order to further improve their properties, the as-prepared Mo bilayer films at 0.4 Pa bottom layer RF sputtering pressure were annealed at different temperatures and then investigated. Specifically, Mo bilayer films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by RF/DC magnetron sputtering at different bottom layer RF sputtering pressures in the range of 0.4-1.2 Pa, the powers of bottom layer RF sputtering and top layer DC sputtering were 120 W and 100 W, respectively. Then, Mo bilayer films, prepared at a bottom layer sputtering pressure of 0.4 Pa and top layer sputtering pressure of 0.3 Pa, were annealed for 30 min at various temperatures in the range of 100-400 • C. The effects of bottom layer sputtering pressures and the annealing temperatures on the microstructures, electrical and optical properties of Mo bilayer films were clarified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic-force microscopy (AFM), and ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectra, respectively. It is shown that with decreasing bottom layer sputtering pressure from 1.2 to 0.4 Pa and increasing annealing temperature from 100 to 400 • C, the crystallinity, electrical and optical properties of Mo bilayer films were improved correspondingly. The optimized Mo bilayer film was prepared at the top layer sputtering pressure of 0.3 Pa, the bottom layer sputtering pressure of 0.4 Pa and the annealing temperature of 400 • C. The extremely low resistivity of 0.92 × 10 −5 Ω.cm was obtained. The photo-conversion efficiency of copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) solar cell with the optimized Mo bilayer film as electrode was up to as high as 13.5%.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

2019

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“…The best nonuniformity even reaches 0.46% (Figure a, for more details please refer to Supporting Information Figures S1 and S2), indicating that an ultra-uniform Mo film was successfully prepared by MS method. Note that the nonuniformity of 0.46% here is much better than the scarce experimental research reported by Badgujar et al (2.04%), owing to our more systematical investigation, while Badgujar et al only tuned the Ar flow rate and power between 100–300 sccm and 6000–7500 W, respectively. In addition, our controlled experimental results in Figures − suggest that substrate temperature and target–substrate distance have more obvious influence on thickness nonuniformity (η), while they can induce the change of thickness nonuniformity (Δη) to be 2.46% and 5.78%, respectively, the other three parameters induced Δη is smaller than 1.20%.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation and Structural Investigation of Ultra-Uniform Mo Films on a Si/SiO₂ Wafer by the Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering Method

Cheng

Wang

et al. 2023

Crystal Growth & Design

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As a kind of important strategic resource, molybdenum (Mo) and its alloys are widely applied in solar cells and 5G radio frequency filters. In order to improve the yield of industrial production, it is important to reduce the nonuniformity of thin-film thickness. We prepared Mo films on CMOS compatible Si/SiO2 wafers through a magnetron sputtering method and systematically investigated the effect of tuning of several process parameters on film thickness nonuniformity and other structural properties, including crystallite size (D), microstrain (ε), and dislocation density (δ). At optimized sputtering power (80 W), chamber pressure (0.4 Pa), argon flow rate (90 sccm), substrate temperature (350 °C), and target–substrate distance (9 cm), the deposited 200 nm-thick Mo films show a unified <110> preferred orientation, and the film thickness nonuniformity reaches an excellent value of 0.46%, with a surface roughness of 0.83 nm and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of X-ray diffraction (XRD) (110) rocking curve as low as 0.47°. Our results provide efficient reference for the preparation of uniform metal films, which have potential for improving the quality and yield in filter device manufacturing.

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“…A Mo back contact of about 800 nm consists of a seed, and the bulk thin film was sputter-coated on the SLG substrate; the sputter deposition parameters were detailed in our earlier published work. 17 Prior to deposition of Mo films, the SLG surface was treated by the wet chemical method using an appropriate concentration of alkaline and neutralizing agents; details are described in our previously published work. 18 A CuGa film was coated using a copper−gallium (Cu:Ga-73:27) alloy target by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering using a 2390 W power with two passes to achieve the desired thickness of about 310 nm.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A CIGS thin film was prepared by sputtering CuGa (copper gallium)–In (indium) precursor film on a molybdenum (Mo)-coated soda lime glass (SLG) substrate (5 cm × 5 cm × 0.3 cm) followed by atmospheric selenization. A Mo back contact of about 800 nm consists of a seed, and the bulk thin film was sputter-coated on the SLG substrate; the sputter deposition parameters were detailed in our earlier published work . Prior to deposition of Mo films, the SLG surface was treated by the wet chemical method using an appropriate concentration of alkaline and neutralizing agents; details are described in our previously published work …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

12.95% Efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells by Single-Step Atmospheric Selenization, Scaled to Monolithically Integrated Modules

Dhage

Yadav

Jha

et al. 2020

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

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High-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells are often prepared by a two-step process, sputtering of Cu-Ga-In precursors followed by multistep selenization, including toxic additional post-deposition treatments and complex instrumentation due to safety apprehensions. We present here a simple and relatively less toxic single-step atmospheric selenization to prepare a high-quality CIGS thin-film absorber. Solar cells made from samples by atmospheric selenization for 15 min at 550 °C without any additional treatment exhibited a power conversion efficiency of up to 12.95% on a device area of 0.48 cm 2 (average total area, 16 cm 2  8.35%, without evaporated grid and antireflective coating). The reproducibility of the results was validated by a multiple set of experiments. Statistical data analysis of the photovoltaic performance parameters of each isolated device on a 16 cm 2 area is systematically mapped to further design and scale up the process for developing monolithically integrated prototype modules on a 5 × 5 cm 2 glass. A serial connection of nine cells (4.5 cm × 0.5 cm) realized by monolithic configuration exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 5% with an opencircuit voltage of 3.85 V from the active area, as demonstrated for real-time application. The present work systematically pronounces conceptualization of lab-scale CIGS thin-film solar devices to a monolithic integration of prototype module utilizing a single-step and simple approach.

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Process parameter impact on properties of sputtered large-area Mo bilayers for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Cited by 38 publications

References 20 publications

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

Preparation and Structural Investigation of Ultra-Uniform Mo Films on a Si/SiO₂ Wafer by the Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering Method

12.95% Efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells by Single-Step Atmospheric Selenization, Scaled to Monolithically Integrated Modules

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Process parameter impact on properties of sputtered large-area Mo bilayers for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Cited by 38 publications

References 20 publications

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

Effects of Bottom Layer Sputtering Pressures and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructures, Electrical and Optical Properties of Mo Bilayer Films Deposited by RF/DC Magnetron Sputtering

Preparation and Structural Investigation of Ultra-Uniform Mo Films on a Si/SiO2 Wafer by the Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering Method

12.95% Efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells by Single-Step Atmospheric Selenization, Scaled to Monolithically Integrated Modules

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Preparation and Structural Investigation of Ultra-Uniform Mo Films on a Si/SiO₂ Wafer by the Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering Method

12.95% Efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells by Single-Step Atmospheric Selenization, Scaled to Monolithically Integrated Modules