• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2013

Chalcopyrite material $CuInSe_2$ (CIS) is known to be a very prominent absorber layer for high efficiency thin film solar cells. Current interest in the photovoltaic industry is to identify and develop more suitable materials and processes for the fabrication of efficient and cost-effective solar cells. Various processes have been being tried for making a low cost CIS absorber layer, this study obtained the CIS nanoparticles using commercial powder of 6 mm pieces for low cost CIS absorber layer by high frequency ball milling and cryogenic milling. And the CIS absorber layer was prepared by paste coating using milled-CIS nanoparticles in glove box under inert atmosphere. The chalcopyrite $CuInSe_2$ thin films were successfully made after selenization at the substrate temperature of $550^{\circ}C$ in 30 min, CIS solar cell of Al/ZnO/CdS/CIS/Mo structure prepared under various deposition process such as evaporation, sputtering and chemical vapor deposition respectively. Finally, we achieved CIS nanoparticles solar cell of electric efficient 1.74 % of Voc 29 mV, Jsc 35 $mA/cm^2$ FF 17.2 %. The CIS nanoparticles-based absorber layers were characterized by using EDS, XRD and HRSEM.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.441-443
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• 2008

A non-vacuum process for fabrication of $CuInSe_2$ (CIS) absorber layer from the corresponding Cu, In solution precursors was described. Cu, In solution precursors was prepared by a room temperature colloidal route by reacting the starting materials $Cu(NO_3)_2$, $InCl_3$ and methanol. The Cu, In solution precursors were mixed with ethylcellulose as organic binder material for the rheology of the mixture to be adjusted for the doctor blade method. After depositing the mixture of Cu, In solution with binder on Mo/glass substrate, the samples were preheated on the hot plate in air to evaporate remaining solvents and to burn the organic binder material. Subsequently, the resultant CI/Mo/glass sample was selenized in Se evaporation in order to get a solar cell applicable dense CIS absorber layer. The CIS absorber layer selenized at $530^{\circ}C$ substrate temperature for 30 min with various Se gas evaporation temperature was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.36.2-36.2
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• 2010

A small amount of Na incorporated in $CuInSe_2$ (CIS) absorption layer has become widely accepted as a requirement for efficient polycrystalline CIS solar cells. However, there is ongoing argument on the role of sodium incorporated in the absorber. In this paper, CIS absorption layers have been deposited using the three-stage co-evaporation process on Mo coated non-Alkali glass substrates. The NaF was evaporated during the second-stage with various fluxes. This paper is focusing on differences of micro-structure and composition ratio of the absorber realized with different Na contents and the variation of electrical properties of the cells with the corresponding absorbers. The analytical results of x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and current-voltage characteristics will be discussed to investigate the effect of NaF flux on the CIS absorber formation and its cell performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.376-376
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• 2011

I-III-VI2 chalcopyrite compounds, particularly copper, indium, gallium selenide(Cu(InxGa1-x)Se2, CIGS), are effective light-absorbing materials in thin-film solar application. They are direct band-gap semiconductors with correspondingly high optical absorption coefficients. Also they are stable under long-term excitation. CIS (CIGS) solar cell reached conversion efficiencies as high as 19.5%. Several methods to prepare CIS (CIGS) absorber films have been reported, such as co-evaporation, sputtering, selenization, and electrodeposition. Until now, co-evaporation is the most successful technique for the preparation of CIS (CIGS) in terms of solar efficiency, but it seems difficult to scale up. CIS solar cells have been hindered by high costs associated with a fabrication process. Therefore, inorganic colloidal ink suitable for a scalable coating process could be a key step in the development of low-cost solar cells. Here, we will present the preparation of CIS photo absorption layer by a solution process using novel metal precursors. Chalcopyrite copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2) nanocrystals ranging from 5 to 20nm in diameter were synthesized by arrested precipitation in solution. For the fabrication of CIS photo absorption layer, the CuInSe2 colloidal ink was prepared by dispersing in organic solvent and used to drop-casting on molybdenum substrate. We have characterized the nanoparticless and CIS layer by XRD, SEM, TEM, and ICP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.258-259
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• 2015

$CuInSe_2$(CIS)층에 Na의 첨가는 태양전지 셀의 효율을 향상시키는데 도움을 주는 것으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 Na이 없는 코닝 유리 기판에 Mo/Mo-Na 이중 박막을 후면 전극으로 이용하여 CIS층의 Na소스로 작용하도록 하였다. CIS/Mo/Mo-Na 다층 박막을 제조한 후, AES분석을 통해 Na은 Mo/Na층과 CIS층의 계면과 CIS층의 표면에 주로 분포하는 것을 알 수 있었다. XRD분석을 통해서 Na함량이 증가할수록 Mo박막의 우선성장면 (110)면의 피크는 감소하였고, CIS의 우선 성장면인 (112)면은 점차 증가하여 Mo-Na층이 200 nm일 때, 최댓값을 가지고 이후로는 감소하는 경향을 보인다. CIS의 결정은 기판에 수직인 방향으로 덴드라이트 성장을 한다. Mo-Na층이 200 nm까지는 밀도가 높은 결정이 성장되지만, 그 이상으로 Na농도가 증가하면 결정 입자의 크기는 다소 성장하지만 밀도가 현저하게 감소한다. 이 결과들로 보아 CIS층의 Na농도조절은 Mo/Mo-Na 이중층의 두께조절을 통해 가능하며, Na이 CIS층에 초과되어 첨가되면 특성이 저하된다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.313-316
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• 2007

본 연구에서는 Cu와 In 성분을 포함하는 메탄올 용액을 닥터 블레이딩 방법으로 코팅한 후 이를 Se Evaporator 열처리하여 CIS 광흡수층을 제조하였다. $Cu(NO_{3})_{2}$, $INCl_{3}$ 를 출발 물질로 선정하고, 이를 메탄올 용매에 녹여 전구체 용액을 만든 후, 여기에 유기물 바인더 물질을 첨가하여 닥터 블레이드 코팅에 적합한 점도를 맞춘 후, 이를 Mo/glass 기판에 코팅하였다. 코팅된 Cu, In 함유 유기물 혼합체를 공기중에서 1차 열처리 한 후 Evaporator 를 이용해 Selenization 하여 태양전지용 CIS 광흡수층을 만들었다. 본 연구에서는 전구체 합성, 유기물 첨가, 공기중 열처리 및 Se 열처리 각 단계에서 광흡수층 막의 형상, 결정구조, 화학조성의 변화과정을 분석하여 CIS 박막의 형성 과정을 고찰하였다. 특히 Se 증발 온도가 CIS막의 특성과 조성에 미치는 영향을 분석하여, 최적의 셀렌화 조건을 도출하고자 하였다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.570-572
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• 2006

본 연구에서는 Cu와 In 성분을 포함하는 메탄을 용액을 닥터 블레이딩 방법으로 코팅한 후 이를 Se 분위기에서 열처리하여 CIS 광흡순층을 제조하였다 $Cu(NO_3)_2,\;InCl_3$를 출발 물질로 선정하고, 이를 메탄을 용매에 녹여 전구체 용액을 만든 후 여기에 유기물 바인더 물질을 첨가하여 닥터 블레이드 코팅에 적합한 점도를 맞춘 후. 이를 Mo/glass 기판에 코팅하였다. 코팅된 Cu, In 함유 유기물 혼합체를 공기중에서 1차 열처리 후 Se 분위기에서 열처리하면 태양전지용 CIS 광흡수층을 얻게 된다 특히 본 연구에서는 전구체 합성, 유기물 첨가, 공기중 열처리 및 Se 열처리 각 단계에서 광흡수층 막의 형상, 결정구조, 화학조성의 변화과정을 분석하여 CIS 박막의 형성 과정을 고찰하였다.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.294-297
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• 2008

In this paper, a novel non-vacuum technique is described for the fabrication of a $CuInSe_2$ (CIS) absorber layer for thin film solar cells using a low-cost precursor solution. A solution containing Cu- and Inrelated chemicals was coated onto a Mo/glass substrate using the Doctor blade method and the precursor layer was then selenized in an evaporation chamber. The precursor layer was found to be composed of CuCl crystals and amorphous In compound, which were completely converted to chalcopyrite CIS phase by the selenization process. Morphological, crystallographic and compositional analyses were performed at each step of the fabrication process by SEM, XRD and EDS, respectively.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.85-90
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• 2015

Two-step processes for preparing $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ absorber layers consist of precursor layer formation and subsequent annealing in a Se-containing atmosphere. Among the various deposition methods for precursor layer, the nonvacuum (wet) processes have been spotlighted as alternatives to vacuum-based methods due to their potential to realize low-cost, scalable PV devices. However, due to its porous nature, the precursor layer deposited on Mo substrate by nonvacuum methods often suffers from thick $MoSe_2$ formation during selenization under a high Se vapor pressure. On the contrary, selenization under a low Se pressure to avoid $MoSe_2$ formation typically leads to low crystal quality of absorber films. Although TiN has been reported as a diffusion barrier against Se, the additional sputtering to deposit TiN layer may induce the complexity of fabrication process and nullify the advantages of nonvacuum deposition of absorber film. In this work, Mo oxide layers via thermal oxidation of Mo substrate have been explored as an alternative diffusion barrier. The morphology and phase evolution was examined as a function of oxidation temperature. The resulting Mo/Mo oxides double layers were employed as a back contact electrode for $CuInSe_2$ solar cells and were found to effectively suppress the formation of $MoSe_2$ layer.