• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2011

This paper describes results for surface and bulk characterization of the most promising thin film solar cell material for high performance devices, (Ag,Cu) (In,Ga) Se2 (ACIGS). This material in particular exhibits a range of exotic behaviors. The surface and general materials science of the material also has direct implications for the operation of solar cells based upon it. Some of the techniques and results described will include scanning probe (AFM, STM, KPFM) measurements of epitaxial films of different surface orientations, photoelectron spectroscopy and inverse photoemission, Auger electron spectroscopy, and more. Bulk measurements are included as support for the surface measurements such as cathodoluminescence imaging around grain boundaries and showing surface recombination effects, and transmission electron microscopy to verify the surface growth behaviors to be equilibrium rather than kinetic phenomena. The results show that the polar close packed surface of CIGS is the lowest energy surface by far. This surface is expected to be reconstructed to eliminate the surface charge. However, the AgInSe2 compound has yielded excellent atomic-resolution images of the surface with no evidence of surface reconstruction. Similar imaging of CuInSe2 has proven more difficult and no atomic resolution images have been obtained, although current imaging tunneling spectroscopy images show electronic structure variations on the atomic scale. A discussion of the reasons why this may be the case is given. The surface composition and grain boundary compositions match the bulk chemistry exactly in as-grow films. However, the deposition of the heterojunction forming the device alters this chemistry, leading to a strongly n-type surface. This also directly explains unpinning of the Fermi level and the operation of the resulting devices when heterojunctions are formed with the CIGS. These results are linked to device performance through simulation of the characteristic operating behaviors of the cells using models developed in my laboratory.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.661-668
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• 2010

Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$(CIGS) photovoltaic thin films were electrodeposited on Mo/glass substrates with an aqueous solution containing 2 mM $CuCl_2$, 8 mM $InCl_3$, 20 mM $GaCl_3$ and 8mM $H_2SeO_3$ at the electrodeposition potential of -0.6 to -1.0 V(SCE) and pH of 1.8. The best chemical composition of $Cu_{1.05}In_{0.8}Ga_{0.13}Se_2$ was found to be achieved at -0.7 V(SCE). The precursor Cu-In-Ga-Se films were annealed for crystallization to chalcopyrite structure at temperatures of 100-$500^{\circ}C$ under Ar gas atmosphere. The chemical compositions, microstructures, surface morphologies, and crystallographic structures of the annealed films were analyzed by EPMA, FE-SEM, AFM, and XRD, respectively. The precursor Cu-In-Ga-Se grains were grown sparsely on the Mo-back contact and also had very rough surfaces. However, after annealing treatment beginning at $200^{\circ}C$, the empty spaces between grains were removed and the grains showed well developed columnar shapes with smooth surfaces. The precursor Cu-In-Ga-Se films were also annealed at the temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ for 60 min under Se gas atmosphere to suppress the Se volatilization. The Se amount on the CIGS film after selenization annealing increased above the Se amount of the electrodeposited state and the $MoSe_2$ phase occurred, resulting from the diffusion of Se through the CIGS film and interaction with Mo back electrode. However, the selenization-annealed films showed higher crystallinity values than did the films annealed under Ar atmosphere with a chemical composition closer to that of the electrodeposited state.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.495-500
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• 2013

Mo-based thin films are frequently used as back electrode materials because of their low resistivity and high crystallinity in CIGS chalcopyrite solar cells. Mo:Na/Mo bilayer thin films with $1{\mu}m$ thickness were deposited on soda lime glass by varying the thickness of each layer using dc-magnetron sputtering. The effects of the Mo:Na layer on morphology and electrical property in terms of resistivity were systematically investigated. The resistivity increased from $159{\mu}{\Omega}cm$ to $944{\mu}{\Omega}cm$; this seemed to be caused by increased surface defects and low crystallinity as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased from 100 nm to 500 nm. The surface morphologies of the Mo thin films changed from a somewhat coarse fibrous structures to irregular and fine celled structures with increased surface cracks along the cell boundaries as the thickness of Mo:Na layer increased. Na contents varied drastically from 0.03 % to 0.52 % according to the variation of Mo:Na layer thickness. The change in Na content may be ascribed to changes in surface morphology and crystallinity of the thin films.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.4332-4336
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• 2011

The chalcopyrite-type $CuInSe_2$ is a remarkable material for thin film solar cells owing to its electronic structure and optical response. Single-phase sphere-like $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystallite particles were prepared by a facile noninjection method with triethanolamine as the complexing agent and the solvent simultaneously. The period of the reaction was the key to form single-phase $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals at $240^{\circ}C$. TEM, XRD, XPS, EDX investigations were performed to characterize the morphology and the detailed structure of as-synthesized $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals. All of the analysis results proved that the synthesized nanocrystals were pure phase and close to the stoichiometric ratio rather than a simple mixture. The band gap of the obtained $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals was $1.03{\pm}0.03$ eV.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2015

Ag addition in chalcopyrite materials is known to lead beneficial changes in aspects of structural and electronic properties. In this work, the effects of Ag alloying of $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$-based solar cells has been investigated. Wide bandgap $(Ag,Cu)(In_{1-x},Ga_x)Se_2$ (x = 0.75~0.8) films have been deposited using a three-stage co-evaporation with various Ag/(Ag+Cu) ratios. With Ag alloying the $(Ag,Cu)(In_{1-x},Ga_x)Se_2$ (x~0.8) films were found to have greater grainsize and film thickness. Device were also fabricated with the $(Ag,Cu)(In_{1-x},Ga_x)Se_2$ (x~0.8) films and their J-V and quantum efficiency measurements were carried out. The highest-efficiency $(Ag,Cu)(In_{1-x},Ga_x)Se_2$ solar cell with Eg > 1.5 eV had an efficiency of 12.2% with device parameters $V_{OC}=0.810V$, $J_{SC}=21.7mA/cm^2$, and FF = 69.0%.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.79-79
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• 2010

다른 물질에 비해 많은 우수한 특성을 가지고 있는 CuInSe2(CIS)박막 태양전지는 많은 연구자들에 의해 개발되어 오고 있다. CIS의 대표적인 장점으로는 직접천이형 밴드갭, 높은 흡수계수, 열 안정화상태 및 p형으로의 전도성물질의 가능성 등 다양하다. 또한 간단한 구조를 이용하여 유리같은 싼 기판을 이용하기 때문에 저가형 태양전지로서 많은 각광을 받고 있다. CIGS태양전지는 CIS의 In 사이트에 Ga을 도핑함으로서 만들어지는데 밴드갭은 약 1.4eV이다. CIS박막을 만드는 많은 방법이 존재하나 구성원소로부터 최적화된 조성을 찾을수 있는 방법이 가장 중요한 요소 중의 하나로 인식되고 있으며, 이런점에서 증발법 및 스퍼터링법 등 같은 진공방식이 비진공방식에 비해 훨씬 간편하게 조성비를 맞출수 있다. 그 중에 스퍼터링법은 대면적 박막태양전지로의 가능성으로 비출어 볼때 산업화를 위한 좋은 후보군이 될 수 있다. Selenization을 하기전에 Cu-In-Se의 전구체 조합은 여러개의 타겟으로부터 동시 스퍼터링법이나 다층 전구체법을 사용하여 준비되는데 어떤 방법이 되던지 Se의 부가적인 공급은 불가피하다. 지금까지 많은 관련 연구의 대부분인 구조적, 조성비적 그리고 광학적인 특성평가에 집중되어 오고 있는데, 전기적특성평가의 경우는 면저항, 비저항 같은 간단한 결과 위주로 보고되어 오고 있다. 또한 캐리어농도와 이동도에 대한 보고가 있음에도 불구하고 이해되기에는 충분치 못한 면이 많다.본 발표에서는 태양전지 제조 전단계로서 소다라임유리기판(SLG)위에 Mo의 유무에 따라 CIS박막의 전기적인 특성 변화에 대한 내용을 담고 있다. 소다라임유리($2cm{\times}2cm$)를 기판으로 사용하여 아세톤-에탄올 용액에 초음파세척을 수행하고, Mo 후면전극을 DC 스퍼터링방식을 이용하여 증착을 한다. SLG와 Mo이 코팅된 SLG를 각각 RF 스퍼터 챔버에 이송한 후 수증기 제거를 위해 약 10분간 예열을 한다. 샘플에 대한 전기적특성은 Hall효과 측정장치에 의해 측정이 되며 전기전도도, 캐리어농도, 이동도 및 전도형에 대한 정보가 각각의 변수에 따라 조사된돠. 부가적으로 구조적, 조성비적인 특성을 SEM,XRD 및 EDX를 통해 조사를 하여 전기적 특성에 따른 관계성을 검토한다. SLG와 Mo가 코팅된 SLG위의 CIS박막은 전기적으로 약간 다른 특성을 보일 것으로 예측되며, 이러한 기대를 바탕으로 조성비가 이상적인 화학양론에 근접할 때 p형으로서 제시될 수 있다는 것을 보여줄 것이다.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.65-65
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• 2012

Copper zinc tin sulfide ($Cu_2ZnSnS_4$, CZTS) is a very promising material as a low cost absorber alternative to other chalcopyrite-type semiconductors based on Ga or In because of the abundant and economical elements. In addition, CZTS has a band-gap energy of 1.4~1.5eV and large absorption coefficient over ${\sim}10^4cm^{-1}$, which is similar to those of $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$(CIGS) regarded as one of the most successful absorber materials for high efficient solar cell. Most previous works on the fabrication of CZTS thin films were based on the vacuum deposition such as thermal evaporation and RF magnetron sputtering. Although the vacuum deposition has been widely adopted, it is quite expensive and complicated. In this regard, the solution processes such as sol-gel method, nanocrystal dispersion and hybrid slurry method have been developed for easy and cost-effective fabrication of CZTS film. Among these methods, the hybrid slurry method is favorable to make high crystalline and dense absorber layer. However, this method has the demerit using the toxic and explosive hydrazine solvent, which has severe limitation for common use. With these considerations, it is highly desirable to develop a robust, easily scalable and relatively safe solution-based process for the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer with a thickness of 1.5~2.0 ${\mu}m$ and micrometer-scaled grains using two different non-vacuum approaches. The first solution-processing approach includes air-stable non-toxic solvent-based inks in which the commercially available precursor nanoparticles are dispersed in ethanol. Our readily achievable air-stable precursor ink, without the involvement of complex particle synthesis, high toxic solvents, or organic additives, facilitates a convenient method to fabricate a high quality CZTS absorber layer with uniform surface composition and across the film depth when annealed at $530^{\circ}C$. The conversion efficiency and fill factor for the non-toxic ink based solar cells are 5.14% and 52.8%, respectively. The other method is based on the nanocrystal dispersions that are a key ingredient in the deposition of thermally annealed absorber layers. We report a facile synthetic method to produce phase-pure CZTS nanocrystals capped with less toxic and more easily removable ligands. The resulting CZTS nanoparticle dispersion enables us to fabricate uniform, crack-free absorber layer onto Mo-coated soda-lime glass at $500^{\circ}C$, which exhibits a robust and reproducible photovoltaic response. Our simple and less-toxic approach for the fabrication of CZTS layer, reported here, will be the first step in realizing the low-cost solution-processed CZTS solar cell with high efficiency.