• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.05a
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• pp.37-51
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• 2000

This paper presented the trend of CIS solar cell development and the current status of CIS cell research conducted by the collaboration of KAIST and KIER.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2002.07c
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• pp.1584-1586
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• 2002

CuIn$Se_2$ (CIS) and related compounds such as Cu($In_xGa_{1-x})Se_2$(CIGS) have been studied by their potential for use in photovoltaic devices. CIS thin film materials which have high absorption coefficient and wide bandgap, have attracted much attention as an alternative to crystalline and amorphous silicon solar cells currently in use. Cu-rich CIGS film have very low resistivity, due to coexistence of the semimetallic $Cu_{2-x}Se$. In-rich CIGS films show high resistivity, since these films are compensated films without the $Cu_{2-x}Se$ phase. Optical properties of the CIGS films also change in accordance with the resistivity for the Cu/(In+Ga) ratio. The Cu-rich films have different spectra from In-rich films in near infrared wavelengths.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2000.07c
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• pp.1625-1627
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• 2000

Cu(InGa)$Se_2$(CIGS) thin film absorbers with various Cu/(In+Ga) atomic ratios were prepared by a three-stage process using a co-evaporation appartus. The effect of Na on the structural and electrical properties of CIGS films were studied and their effects on the CIGS/Mo thin film solar cells were investigated. Soda-lime glass and Corning glass were used as substrates to compare the effect of Na diffusion into CIGS film. The resistivity of CIGS films was not changed in the Cu-poor lesion due to diffusion of Na from soda-lime glass but was mainly determined by the surface resistivity controlled by excess Na.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.204-210
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• 2020

ZnO thin films are of considerable interest because they can be customized by various coating technologies to have high electrical conductivity and high visible light transmittance. Therefore, ZnO thin films can be applied to various optoelectronic device applications such as transparent conducting thin films, solar cells and displays. In this study, ZnO rod and thin films are fabricated using aqueous chemical bath deposition (CBD), which is a low-cost method at low temperatures, and environmentally friendly. To investigate the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO for the presence of citrate ion, which can significantly affect crystal form of ZnO, various amounts of the citrate ion are added to the aqueous CBD ZnO reaction bath. As a result, ZnO crystals show a nanorod form without citrate, but a continuous thin film when citrate is above a certain concentration. In addition, as the citrate concentration increases, the electrical conductivity of the ZnO thin films increases, and is almost unchanged above a certain citrate concentration. Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cell substrates are used to evaluate whether aqueous CBD ZnO thin films can be applicable to real devices. The performance of aqueous CBD ZnO thin films shows performance similar to that of a sputter-deposited ZnO:Al thin film as top transparent electrodes of CIGS solar cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.330-333
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• 2002

The substrate temperature is an important parameter in thin film deposition process. In this paper the effects of the substrate temperature on the properties of CuIn0.75Ga0.25Se2(CIGS) thin films are reported. Structure, surface morphology and optical properties of CIGS thin films deposited at various substrate 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 substrate temperatures the films displayed a higher degree of crystallinity. The <112> peak was also enhanced and other CIGS peaks appeared simultaneously These results were supported by experimental work using Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectra of the as-grown CIGS thin films show only the Al mode peak. The intensity of this peak was enhanced at higher deposition temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results revealed very small grains in films fabricated at 48$0^{\circ}C$ substrate temperature. When the substrate temperature was increased the average grain size also increased together with a reduction in the number and size of the voids. The deposition temperature also had a significant influence on the transmission spectra.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2013

Recently, Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSS), 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 CZTSS-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 104 cm-1, and high theoretical conversion efficiency of 32.2% in thin film solar cells. Despite these promising characteristics, research into CZTSS 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%. I will briefly overview the recent technological development of CZTSS thin film solar cells and then introduce our research results mainly related to sputter based process. CZTSS thin film solar cells are prepared by sulfurization of stacked both metallic and sulfide precursors. Sulfurization process was performed in both furnace annealing system and rapid thermal processing system using S powder as well as 5% diluted H2S gas source at various annealing temperatures ranging from $520^{\circ}C$ to $580^{\circ}C$. Structural, optical, microstructural, and electrical properties of absorber layers were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Hall-measurement, TRPL, etc. The effects of processing parameters, such as composition ratio, sulfurization pressure, and sulfurization temperature on the properties of CZTSS absorber layers will be discussed in detail. CZTSS thin film solar cell fabricated using metallic precursors shows maximum cell efficiency of 6.9% with Jsc of 25.2 mA/cm2, Voc of 469 mV, and fill factor of 59.1% and CZTS thin film solar cell using sulfide precursors shows that of 4.5% with Jsc of 19.8 mA/cm2, Voc of 492 mV, and fill factor of 46.2%. In addition, other research activities in our lab related to the formation of CZTS absorber layers using solution based processes such as electro-deposition, chemical solution deposition, nano-particle formation will be introduced briefly.

• 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.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.1 no.2 s.2
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• pp.6-10
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• 2005

[ $CulnSe2$ ]계 화합물은 직접천이형 반도체로 광흡수계수가 매우 높아 박막형 태양전지 제조에 매우 유리하다. 또한 화학적으로 안정하며 Ga, Al 등을 첨가하면 에너지 금지대폭을 조절할 수 있어 Wide Bandgap 태양전지 및 탠덤구조 태양전지를 제조하기에도 용이하다. CIS 물질에서 In을 $20-30\%$ 정도 치환한 $Cu(In,\;Ga)Se_2(CIGS)$ 태양전지의 경우 19.5%의 세계 최고 효율을 보고하고 있으며 이는 다결정 실리콘 태양전지의 효율과 비슷한 수준이다. 본 연구에서는 동시 질공증발법을 이용하여 증착한 CIGS 박막 및 $CuGaSe_2(CGS)$ 박막을 이용하여 태양전지를 제조하였다. 공정의 재현성 및 결정립계가 큰 광흡수층 제조를 위하여 실시간 기판 온도 모니터링 시스템을 도입하였으며 버퍼층으로는 용액성장한 CdS 박막을 사용하였다. SLG/MO/CIGS(CGS)/CdS/ZnO/Al 구조의 태양전지를 제조하여 면적 $0.5cm^2$에서 각각 $17\%(CIGS)$와 $7\%(CGS)$의 효율을 얻었다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.152-153
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• 2006

The new approach to buffer layer design for CIGS solar cells that permitted to reduce the buffer absorption losses in the short wavelength range and to overcome the disadvantages inherent to Cd-free CIGS solar cells was proposed. A chemical bath deposition method has been used to produce a high duality buffer layer that comprises thin film of CdS and Zn-based film. The double layer was grown on either ITO or CIGS substrates and its morphological, structural and optical properties were characterized. The Zn-based film was described as the ternary compound $ZnS_x(OH)_y$. The composition of the $ZnS_x(OH)_y$ layer was not uniform throughout its thickness. $ZnS_x(OH)_y$/CdS/substrate region was a highly intermixed region with gradually changing composition. The short wavelength cut-off of double layer was shifted to shorter wavelength (400nm) compared to that (520 nm) for the standard CdS by optimization of the double buffer design. The results show the way to improve the light energy collection efficiency of the nearly cadmium-free CIGS-based solar cells.