• Bulletin of the Korea Photovoltaic Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 2016

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

The $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) thin film obtained by two-step process (metal deposition and Se annealing) has a rough surface morphology and many voids at the CIGS/Mo interface. To solve the problem a precursor that contains Se was employer by depositing a (In,Se)/(Cu,Ga) stacked layer. We devised a two-step annealing (vacuum pre-annealing and Se annealing) for the precursor because direct annealing of the precursor in Se environment resulted in the small grains with unwanted demarcation between stacked layers. After vacuum pre-annealing up to $500^{\circ}C$ the CIGS film consisted of CIGS phase and secondary phases including $In_4Se_3$, InSe, and $Cu_9(In,Ga)_4$. The secondary phases were completely converted to CIGS phase by a subsequent Se annealing. A void-free CIGS/Mo interface was obtained by the two-step annealing process. Especially, the CIGS film prepared by vacuum annealing $450^{\circ}C$ and subsequent Se annealing $550^{\circ}C$ showed a densely-packed grains with smooth surface, well-aligned bamboo grains on the top of the film, little voids in the film, and also little voids at the CIGS/Mo interface. The smooth surface enhanced the cell performance due to the increase of shunt resistance.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.65-70
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• 2015

We applied KF on CIGS film to modify CIGS surface with a wider-bandgap surface layer. With the KF deposition the surface of CIGS film had fine particle on the CIGS surface at 350 and $300^{\circ}C$. No fine particle was detected at 500 and $250^{\circ}C$. With the KF treatment, the Ga and O content increased at the surface, while the In and Cu content decreased. The valence band maximum was lowered with KF treatment. The composition profile and band structure were positive side of applying KF on the CIGS surface. However, the efficiency decreased with the KF treatment due to high series resistance, probably due to too thick surface layer. A smaller amount of KF should be supplied and more systematic analysis is necessary to obtain a reproducible higher efficiency CIGS solar cells.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.41-47
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• 2024

CIGS solar cells are thin film solar cells that have excellent light absorption coefficient and can be manufactured with high efficiency through the use of low materials. In Korea, they must pass KS certification for home and commercial installation. KS C 8562 is a standard for evaluating the durability of CIGS and thin film amorphous silicon solar modules and deals with contents such as light, temperature, humidity, and mechanical durability. Unlike general crystalline silicon solar modules, the CIGS solar module has a different behavior of output change through these environmental tests, so if it shows 90% or more of the rated output suggested by the manufacturer after the final test, it is judged to be a suitable product. In this paper, the output before and after individual tests was measured through the test method of KS C 8562 to observe the output change and to discover the vulnerabilities of the CIGS solar module when exposed to various environments. Through this, it was confirmed that humidity exposure was the most vulnerable and that it had output recovery characteristics for light (visible light and ultraviolet rays). This study attempted to present the output behavior characteristics and data of the CIGS module at the time when the high efficiency thin film photovoltaic module market is expected to be created in the future.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.87-92
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• 2016

The effects of selenization pressure on the structural, optical and electrical properties of the CIGS thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering using a single quaternary target were investigated. At selenization pressures lower than atmospheric pressure, CIGS thin films formed non-stoichiometric compounds due to deficiencies of Se vapor. In contrast, when selenization process was conducted at above atmospheric pressure, the residence time of Se vapor inside the tube increased so that the Se element could be incorporated within vacant sites of the CIGS structure, resulting in the formation of stoichiometric CIGS thin films. High quality CIGS thin films could be obtained when the selenization process was performed at pressures greater than atmospheric and $550^{\circ}C$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.67-67
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• 2011

Compound semiconductor/CNTs composites have shown considerably improved efficiency improvement in photovoltaic devices, which is often attributed to two different factors. One is the formation of efficient electronic energy cascade structures. The other effect of CNTs on the performance of photovoltaic devices is the decrement of interfacial resistance. The interfacial resistances at n-type/ p-type materials and/or n-type materials/TCO electrode are reduced by an outstanding electrical property of CNTs. In addition to the effects of CNTs, we report the third reason for increment of efficiency in photovoltaic devices by CNT's well-known electrical field enhancement effects. The improved ${\beta}$ values in reverse-FE currents of CIGS electrode with SWNTs layers indicate the enhancement of electrical field in photovoltaic devices, which implies the acceleration of the electron transfer rate in the cell. Due to the formation of an efficient electronic energy cascade structure and the decrease of the interfacial resistance as well as the improvement of the electrical field in the photovoltaic devices, the power conversion efficiency of electrochemically deposited superstrate-type CIGS solar cells was increased 24.3% in the presence of SWNTs and showed 10.40% conversion efficiency.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.96-105
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• 2021

Even though above 22% efficiencies have been reported in Cd-free Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cell with Zn-containing buffers, the efficiencies with Zn-containing buffers, in general, are well below 20%. One of the reasons is Zn diffusion from the Zn-containing buffer layer to CIGS film during buffer growth. To avoid the degradation, it is necessary to prevent the diffusion of Zn atoms from Zn-containing buffer to CIGS film. For the purpose, we characterized an In₂Se₃ film as a possible diffusion barrier layer because In₂Se₃ has no Zn component. It was found that an In₂Se₃ layer grown at 300℃ was very effective in preventing Zn diffusion from a Zn-containing buffer. Also, the In₂Se₃ had a large potential barrier in the valence band at the In₂Se₃/CIGS interface. Therefore, In₂Se₃ passivation has the potential to achieve a super-high efficiency in CIGS solar cells that employ Cd-free ALD processed buffers containing Zn.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.39-44
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• 2015

$Cu(In,Ga)_3Se_5$ (${\beta}-CIGS$) has a band gap of 1.35 eV which is an optimum value for high solar-energy conversion efficiency. However, ${\beta}-CIGS$ film was not well characterized yet due to lower efficiency compared to $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (${\alpha}-CIGS$). In this work, ${\beta}-CIGS$ films were fabricated by a three-stage co-evaporation of elemental sources with various Se fluxes. As the Se flux increased, the crystallinity of ${\beta}-CIGS$ phase was improved from the analysis of Raman spectroscopy and a deep-level defect was reduced from the analysis of photoluminescence spectroscopy. A Se treatment of the ${\beta}-CIGS$ film at $200^{\circ}C$ increased Ga content and decreased Cu content at the surface of the film. With the Se treatment at $200^{\circ}C$, the cell efficiency was greatly improved for the CIGS films prepared with low Se flux due to the increase of short-circuit current and fill factor. It was found that the main reason of performance improvement was lower Cu content at the surface instead of higher Ga content.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.21-24
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• 2016

Chalcopyrite based (CIGS) thin films have considered to be a promising candidates for industrial applications. The growth of quality CIGS thin films without secondary phases is very important for further efficiency improvements. But, the identification of complex secondary phases present in the entire film is crucial issue due to the lack of powerful characterization tools. Even though X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and normal Raman spectroscopy provide the information about the secondary phases, they provide insufficient information because of their resolution problem and complexity in analyzation. Among the above tools, a normal Raman spectroscopy is better for analysis of secondary phases. However, Raman signal provide the information in 300 nm depth of film even the thickness of film is > $1{\mu}m$. For this reason, the information from Raman spectroscopy can't represent the properties of whole film. In this regard, the authors introduce a new way for identification of secondary phases in CIGS film using depth Raman analysis. The CIGS thin films were prepared using DC-sputtering followed by selenization process in 10 min time under $1{\times}10^{-3}torr$ pressure. As-prepared films were polished using a dimple grinder which expanded the $2{\mu}m$ thick films into about 1mm that is more than enough to resolve the depth distribution. Raman analysis indicated that the CIGS film showed different secondary phases such as, $CuIn_3Se_5$, $CuInSe_2$, InSe and CuSe, presented in different depths of the film whereas XPS gave complex information about the phases. Therefore, the present work emphasized that the Raman depth profile tool is more efficient for identification of secondary phases in CIGS thin film.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.371-372
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• 2009

We have prepared and characterized CIGS nanopowder for absorber layer of photovoltaic. CIGS nanopowder were obtained at $260^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours from the reaction of $CuCl_2$, $InCl_3$, $GaCl_3$ and Se powder in solvent. The CIGS nanopowder were identified to have a typical chalcopyrite tetragonal structure by using X-ray diffraction(XRD), Inductively Coupled Plasma Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM).