• ETRI Journal
• /
• 제34권5호
• /
• pp.779-782
• /
• 2012

$CuIn_{1-x}Ga_xSe_2$ (CIGS) thin films are grown on Mo/soda lime glass using a reactive sputtering process in which a Se cracker is used to deliver reactive Se molecules. The Cu and $(In_{0.7}Ga_{0.3})_2Se_3$ targets are simultaneously sputtered under the delivery of reactive Se. The effects of Se flux on film composition are investigated. The Cu/(In+Ga) composition ratio increases as the Se flux increases at a plasma power of less than 30 W for the Cu target. The (112) crystal orientation becomes dominant, and crystal grain size is larger with Se flux. The power conversion efficiency of a solar cell fabricated using an 800-nm CIGS film is 8.5%.

• 한국재료학회지
• /
• 제22권5호
• /
• pp.259-273
• /
• 2012

Chalcogenide-based semiconductors, such as $CuInSe_2$, $CuGaSe_2$, Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS), and CdTe have attracted considerable interest as efficient materials in thin film solar cells (TFSCs). Currently, CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have demonstrated the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 11% in module production. However, commercialized CIGS and CdTe TFSCs have some limitations due to the scarcity of In, Ga, and Te and the environmental issues associated with Cd and Se. Recently, kesterite CZTS, which is one of the In- and Ga- free absorber materials, has been attracted considerable attention as a new candidate for use as an absorber material in thin film solar cells. The CZTS-based absorber material has outstanding characteristics such as band gap energy of 1.0 eV to 1.5 eV, high absorption coefficient on the order of $10^4cm^{-1}$, and high theoretical conversion efficiency of 32.2% in thin film solar cells. Despite these promising characteristics, research into CZTS-based thin film solar cells is still incomprehensive and related reports are quite few compared to those for CIGS thin film solar cells, which show high efficiency of over 20%. The recent development of kesterite-based CZTS thin film solar cells is summarized in this work. The new challenges for enhanced performance in CZTS thin films are examined and prospective issues are addressed as well.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국신재생에너지학회 2009년도 추계학술대회 논문집
• /
• pp.400-400
• /
• 2009

Despite the success of Cu(In,Ga)$Se_2$ (CIGS) based PV technology now emerging in several industrial initiatives, concerns about the cost of In and Ga are often expressed. It is believed that the cost of those elements will eventually limit the cost reduction of this technology. One candidate to replace CIGS is $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$ (CZTSe), fabricated by co-evaporation technique. Co-evaporation technique will be one of the best methods to control film composition. This type of absorber derives from the $CuInSe^2$ chalcopyrite structure by substituting half of the indium atoms with zinc and other half with tin. Energy bandgap of this material has been reported to range from 0.8eV for selenide to 1.5eV for the sulfide and large coefficient in the order of $10^{14}cm^{-1}$, which means large possibility of commercial production of the most suitable absorber by using the CZTSe film. In this work, Effects of substrate temperature of $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$ absorber layer on the performance of thin films solar cells were investigated. We reported on some of the absorber properties and device results.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
• /
• 제2권2호
• /
• pp.69-72
• /
• 2014

We investigated current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance (C)-V characteristics of solution-processed thin film solar cells, consisting of $Cu(In,Ga)S_2$ and $CuInS_2$ stacked absorber layers. The ideality factors, extracted from the temperature-dependent I-V curves, showed that the tunneling-mediated interface recombination was dominant in the cells. Rapid increase of both series- and shunt-resistance at low temperatures would limit the performance of the cells, requiring further optimization. The C-V data revealed that the carrier concentration of the $CuInS_2$ layer was about 10 times larger than that of the $Cu(In,Ga)S_2$ layer. All these results could help us to find strategies to improve the efficiency of the solution-processed thin film solar cells.

• 한국재료학회지
• /
• 제30권3호
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 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.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
• /
• 제5권4호
• /
• pp.135-139
• /
• 2017

We fabricated two different transparent conducting oxide thin films of ZnO doped with Ga ($Ga_2O_3$ 0.9 wt%) as well as Al ($Al_2O_3$ 2.1 wt%) (GAZO) and ZnO doped only with Al ($Al_2O_3$ 3 wt%) (AZO). It was investigated how it affects the moisture resistance of the transparent electrode. In addition, $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ thin film solar cells with two transparent oxides as front electrodes were fabricated, and the correlation between humidity resistance of transparent electrodes and device performance of solar cells was examined. When both transparent electrodes were exposed to high temperature distilled water, they showed a rapid increase in sheet resistance and a decrease in the fill factor of the solar cell. However, AZO showed a drastic decrease in efficiency at the beginning of exposure, while GAZO showed that the deterioration of efficiency occurred over a long period of time and that the long term moisture resistance of GAZO was better.

• 한국전기전자재료학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국전기전자재료학회 2002년도 하계학술대회 논문집
• /
• pp.383-386
• /
• 2002

Polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se$_2$(CIGS) thin-films were grown by co-evaporation on a soda lime glass substrate. In this paper the effects of the Se evaporation temperature on the properties of CuIn0.75Ga0.25Se2 (CIGS) thin films. Structure, surface morphology and optical properties of CIGS thin films deposited at various Se evaporation temperatures have been investigated using a number of analysis techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that CIGS films exhibit a strong <112> preferred orientation. As expected, at higher Se evaporation temperatures the films displayed a lower degree of crystallinity. The <112> peak was also enhanced and other CIGS peaks appeared simultaneously. These results were supported by experimental work using scanning electron microscopy When the Se evaporation temperature was increased, the average grain size also decreased together with a reduction Cu content. The Se evaporation temperature also had a significant inf1uence on the transmission spectra. Increasing the Se evaporation temperature, the cell efficiency was improved dramatically to 11.75% with Voc = 556 mV, Jsc = 32.17 mA/cm2 and FF = 0.66. The Se evaporation temperature is an important parameter in thin film deposition regardless of the deposition technique being used to deposit thin films

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
• /
• pp.464.1-464.1
• /
• 2014

Among numerous material candidates, Cu(InxGa1-x)(SySe2-y) (CIGS) thin films have emerged as promising material candidates for thin film solar cell applications due to the high energy conversion efficiency and relatively low fabrication cost. The CIGS thin film solar cells consist of several materials, including Mo back contacts, ZnO-based window layers, and CdS buffer layers. All these materials have different crystal structures and contain quite distinct chemical elements, and hence the device characterization requires careful analyses. Most of all, identification of the major trap states resulting in the carrier recombination processes is a key step toward realization of high efficiency CIGS solar cells. We have carried out electrical investigations of CIGS thin film solar cells to specify the major trap states and their roles in photovoltaic performance. In particular, we have used the temperature-dependent transport characterizations and admittance spectroscopy. In this presentation, we will introduce some exemplary studies of DC and AC electrical characteristics of the CIGS solar cells.

• 한국재료학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국재료학회 2010년도 춘계학술발표대회
• /
• pp.36.1-36.1
• /
• 2010

While the substrate-type solar cells with Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorbers yield conversion efficiencies of up 20%[1], the highest published efficiency of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 superstrate solar cell is only 12.8% [2]. The commerciallized Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells are made in the substrate configuration having the stacking sequence of substrate (soda lime glass)/back contact (molybdenum)/absorber layer (Cu(In,Ga)Se2)/buffer layer (cadmium sulfide)/window layer (transparent conductive oxide)/anti reflection layer (MgF2) /grid contact. Thus, it is not possible to illuminate the substrate-type cell through the glass substrate. Rather, it is necessary to illuminate from the opposite side which requires an elaborate transparent encapsulation. In contrast to that, the configuration of superstrate solar cell allows the illumination through the glass substrate. This saves the expensive transparent encapsulation. Usually, the high quality Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber requires a high deposition temperature over 550C. Therefore, the front contact should be thermally stable in the temperature range to realize a successful superstrate-type solar cell. In this study, it was tried to make a decent superstrate-type solar cell with the thermally stable ZnO:Al layer obtained by adjusting its deposition parameters in magnetron sputtering process. The effect of deposition condition of the layer on the cell performance will be discussed together with hall measurement results and current-voltage characteristics of the cells.

• 한국전기전자재료학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국전기전자재료학회 2003년도 하계학술대회 논문집 Vol.4 No.1
• /
• pp.331-334
• /
• 2003

Photovoltaics is considered as one of the most promising new energy technology, because its energy source is omni present, pollution-free and inexhaustive. It is agreed that these solar cells must be thin film type because thin film process is cost-efficive in the fact that it uses much less raw materials and can be continuous. The defect chalcopyrite material $CuIn_3Se_5$ has been identified as playing an essential role in efficient photovoltaic action in $CuInSe_2$-based devicesm It has been reported to be of n-type conductivity, forming a p-n junction with its p-type counterpart $CuInSe_2$. Because the most efficient cells consist of the $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ quarternary, knowledge of some physical properties of the Ga-containing defect chalcopyrite $Cu(In,Ga)_3Se_5$ may help us better understand the junction phenomena in such devices.