• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.85.1-85.1
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• 2010

$Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) thin film solar cell is currently 19.5% higher efficiency and developing a large area technology. The structure of CIGS solar cell that make five unit layers as back contact, light absorption, buffer, front transparent conducting electrode and antireflection to make them sequentially forming. Materials and various compositions of thin film unit which also manufacture a variety method used by the physical and chemical method for CIGS solar cell. The construction and performance test of evaporator for CIGS thin film solar cell has been done. The vapor pressures were changed by using vapor flux meter. The vapor pressure were copper (Cu) $2.1{\times}10^{-7}{\sim}3.0{\times}10^{-7}$ Torr, indium (In) $8.0{\times}10^{-7}{\sim}9.0{\times}10^{-7}$ Torr, gallium (Ga) $1.4{\times}10^{-7}{\sim}2.8{\times}10^{-7}$ Torr, and selenium (Se) $2.1{\times}10^{-6}{\sim}3.2{\times}10^{-6}$ Torr, respectively. The characteristics of the CIGS thin film was investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy using a He-Ne laser. In PL spectrum, temperature dependencies of PL spectra were measured at 1137 nm wavelength.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.196-201
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• 2015

This paper presents the impact of partial shading on $CuIn_xGa_{(1-x)}Se_2(CIGS)$ photovoltaic(PV) modules with bypass diodes. When the CIGS PV modules were partially shaded, the modules were under conditions of partial reverse bias. We investigated the characterization of the bypass diode and solar cell properties of the CIGS PV modules when these was partially shaded, comparing the results with those for a crystalline silicon module. In crystalline silicon modules, the bypass diode was operated at a partial shade modules of 1.67 % shading. This protected the crystalline silicon module from hot spot damage. In CIGS thin film modules, on the other hand, the bypass diode was not operated before 20 % shading. This caused damage because of hotspots, which occurred as wormlike defects in the CIGS thin film module. Moreover, the bypass diode adapted to the CIGS thin film module was operated fully at 60% shading, while the CIGS thin film module was not operated under these conditions. It is known that the bypass diode adapted to the CIGS thin film module operated more slowly than that of the crystalline silicon module; this bypass diode also failed to protect the module from damage. This was because of the reverse saturation current of the CIGS thin film, $1.99{\times}10^{-5}A/cm^2$, which was higher than that of crystalline silicon, $8.11{\times}10^{-7}A/cm^2$.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2011

Thin film solar cells with chalcopyrite $CuInSe_2/Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ absorber materials, commonly known as "CIS/CIGS solar cells" have recently attracted significant research interest as a potential alternative energy-harvesting system for the next generation. Among the different deposition techniques available for the CIGS absorber layer, electrodeposition is an effective and low cost alternative to vacuum based deposition methods. This article reviews progress in the area of CIGS solar cells with an emphasis on electrodeposited absorber layer. Existing challenges in fabrication of stoichiometric absorber layer are highlighted.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.436-437
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• 2008

Flexible CIGS thin film solar cell was fabricated using STS430 plate as a flexible substrate in this work. A diffusion barrier layer of $SiO_2$ thin film was deposited on STS430 substrate by PECVD followed by deposition of double layered Mo back contact. After depositing CIGS absorber layer by co-evaporation, CdS buffer layer by chemical bath deposition, ZnO window layer by RF sputtering and Al electrode by thermal evaporation, the solar cell fabrication processes were completed and its performance was evaluated. Corresponding solar cell showed an conversion efficiency of 8.35 % with $V_{OC}$ of 0.52 V, $J_{SC}$ of 26.06 mA/$cm^2$ and FF of 0.61.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.153-155
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• 2009

In this study, we fabricated the $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) thin-film solar cells by using a polyimide substrate. The CIGS thin-film was deposited on Mo coated polyimide substrate by a 3-stage co-evaporation technique. Because the polyimide shows thermal transformation at about $400^{\circ}C$, the substrate temperature of co-evaporation process was set to below $400^{\circ}C$. Corresponding solar cell showed a conversion efficiency of 7.08 % with $V_{OC}$ of 0.58 V, $J_{SC}$ of 24.99 $mA/cm^2$ and FF of 0.49.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.1564-1567
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• 2009

Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS) thin films were formed using CIGS bulk by electron-beam evaporation method with an evaporation current from 20 mA to 90 mA. The experimental results showed that the chemical compositions and the properties of CIGS films varied with the different evaporation current. The Cu-rich CIGS film was deposited successfully with a band gap of 1.20 eV when the evaporation current was 90 mA.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.88-94
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• 2014

The structural, optical and electrical properties of sputter-deposited CIGS films were directly influenced by the sputtering process parameters such as substrate temperature, working pressure, RF power and distance between target and substrate. CIGS thin films deposited by using a quaternary target revealed to be Se deficient due to Se low vapor pressure. This Se deficiency affected the overall stoichiometry of the films, causing the films to be Cu-rich. Current tends to pass through the Cu-Se channels which act as the shunting path increasing the film conductivity. The crystal structure of CIGS thin films depends on the substrate orientation due to the influence of surface morphology, grain size and stress of Mo substrate. The excess of Cu was removed from the CIGS films by KCN treatment, achieving a suitable Cu concentration (referred as Cu-poor) for the fabrication of solar cell. Due to high Cu concentrations on the CIGS film surface induced by Cu-Se phases after CIGS film deposition, KCN treatment proved to be necessary for the fabrication of high efficiency solar cells. Also during KCN treatment, dislocation density and lattice parameter decreased as excess Cu was removed, resulting in increase of bandgap and the decrease of conductivity of CIGS films. It was revealed that Cu-Se secondary phase could be removed by KCN wet etching of CIGS films, allowing the fabrication of high efficiency absorber layer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.550-555
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• 2011

A high-quality CIGS film with a selenization process needs to be developed for low-cost and large-scale production. In this study, we used $Cu_2In_3$, CuGa and $Cu_2Se$ sputter targets for the deposition of a precursor. The precursor deposited by sputtering was selenized in Se vapor. The precursor layer deposited by the co-sputtering of $Cu_2In_3$, CuGa and $Cu_2Se$ showed a uniform distribution of Cu, In, Ga, and Se throughout the layer with Cu, In, CuIn, CuGa and $Cu_2Se$ phases. After selenization at $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, the CIGS film showed a double-layer microstructure with a large-grained top layer and a small-grained bottom layer. In the AES depth profile, In was found to have accumulated near the surface while Cu had accumulated in the middle of the CIGS film. By adding a Cu-In-Ga interlayer between the co-sputtered precursor layer and the Mo film and adding a thin $Cu_2Se$ layer onto the co-sputtered precursor layer, large CIGS grains throughout the film were produced. However, the Cu accumulated in the middle of CIGS film in this case as well. By supplying In, Ga and Se to the CIGS film, a uniform distribution of Cu, In, Ga and Se was achieved in the middle of the CIGS film.

• 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 $550^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.131-135
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• 2020

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks have been adopted as a front electrode in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells due to their low cost and compatibility with the solution process. When an AgNW network is applied to a CIGS thin film solar cell, reflection loss can increase because the CdS layer, with a relatively high refractive index (n ~ 2.5 at 550 nm), is exposed to air. To resolve the issue, we apply solution-processed ZnO nanorods to the AgNW network as an anti-reflective coating. To obtain high performance of the optical and electrical properties of the ZnO nanorod and AgNW network composite, we optimize the process parameters - the spin coating of AgNWs and the concentration of zinc nitrate and hexamethylene tetramine (HMT - to fabricate ZnO nanorods. We verify that 10 mM of zinc nitrate and HMT show the lowest reflectance and 10% cell efficiency increase when applied to CIGS thin film solar cells.