• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2015

High efficiency $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ solar cells are generally prepared above $500^{\circ}C$. Lowering the process temperature can allow wider selection of substrate material and process window. In this paper, the three-stage co-evaporation process widely used to grow CIGS thin film at high temperature was modified to reduce the maximum substrate temperature. Below $400^{\circ}C$ the CIGS films show poor crystal growth and lower solar cell performance, in spite of external Na doping by NaF. As a new approach, Cu source instead of Cu with Se in the second stage was applied on the $(In,Ga)_2Se_3$ precursor at $400^{\circ}C$ and achieved a better crystal growth. The distribution of Ga in the films produce by new method were investigated and solar cells were fabricated using these films.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2005

The stoichiometric mixture of evaporating materials for the $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film was prepared from horizontal furnace. Using extrapolation method of X-ray diffraction patterns for the polycrystal $CuInSe_2$, it was found tetragonal structure whose lattice constant $a_0$ and $c_0$ were $5.783\;{\AA}$ and $11.621\;{\AA}$, respectively. To obtain the $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film, $CuInSe_2$ mixed crystal was deposited on throughly etched GaAs(100) by the HWE(Hot Wall Epitaxy) system. The source and substrate temperature were $620^{\circ}C$ and $410^{\circ}C$ respectively. The crystalline structure of $CuInSe_2$ single crystal thin film was investigated by the double crystal X-ray diffraction(DCXD). Hall effect on this sample was measured by the method of Van der Pauw and studied on carrier density and mobility depending on temperature. From Hall data, the mobility was likely to be decreased by impurity scattering in the temperature range 30 K to 100 K and by lattice scattering in the temperature range 100 K to 293 K. The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $CuInSe_2$ obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g(T)=1.1851\;eV-(8.99{\times}10^{-4}\;eV/K)T^2/(T+153\;K)$. The open-circuit voltage, short current density, fill factor, and conversion efficiency of $n-CdS/p-CuGaSe_2$ heterojunction solar cells under $80\;mW/cm^2$ illumination were found to be 0.51V, $29.3\;mA/cm^2$, 0.76 and 14.3 %, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.383-386
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• 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

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.85-87
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• 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. Effects of substrate temperature of $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$ absorber layer on the performance of thin films solar cells were investigated. As substrate temperature increased, the grain size of $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$ films increased presumably. At a optimal condition of substrate temperature is $320^{\circ}C$, the solar cell shows a conversion efficiency of 1.79% with $V_{OC}$ of 0.213V, JSC of $16.91mA/cm^2$ and FF of 49.7%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.314.2-314.2
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• 2013

CIGS 박막의 물성은 조성에 크게 영향을 받으며, 특히 박막 내 Cu/(In+Ga) 비는 매우 중요한 변수로서 태양전지 특성에 영향을 주게 된다. Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 박막의 전하농도 및 반도체로의 성격을 가장 명확하게 결정하는 조성비는 Cu/(In+Ga) 비이다. 태양전지와 같은 소자로 작용하기 위해서는 Cu/(In+Ga) 비가 1보다 작아야 한다. 고효율의 태양전지는 Cu/(In+Ga)조성이 0.85~0.95로 slightly Cu-poor가 되어야 만들어진다. 본 연구에서는 Cu조성에 따른 CIGS 박막의 구조적, 전기적 특성과 CIGS 태양전지 효율 특성에 관하여 연구하였다. 미세구조 분석결과 Cu 조성이 증가함에 따라 큰 결정립을 가지며 결정립의 성장이 고르게 되어 접합 형성을 좋게 하는 경향을 보였다. X선 회절 분석결과, Cu 함유량 비율이 증가하면서 <112>의 우선배향성에서 <220/204>으로 변화하였다. 그러나, Cu/(In+Ga) 비율이 1이상이 첨가됨에 따라 우선배향은 다시 <112>로 변화함을 알 수 있었다. EDX 분석결과 Ga/(In+Ga) 0.31, Cu/(In+Ga) 0.86의 비율일 때, Carrier density $1.49{\times}1016$ cm-3을 나타내었다. CIGS의 태양전지의 효율 측정결과 Voc=596mV, Jsc=37.84mA/cm2, FF=72.96%로 ${\eta}$=16.47%를 달성하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2003

A stoichiometric mixture of evaporating materials for $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films was prepared from horizontal electric furnace. Using extrapolation method of X-ray diffraction patterns for the polycrystal $CuGaSe_2$, it was found tetragonal structure whose lattice constant $a_0$ and $c_0$ were $5.615{\AA}$ and $11.025{\AA}$, respectively. To obtain the single crystal thin films, $CuGaSe_2$ mixed crystal was deposited on thoroughly etched semi-insulating GaAs(100) substrate by the hot wall epitaxy (HWE) system. The source and substrate temperatures were $610^{\circ}C$ and $450^{\circ}C$, respectively. The crystalline structure of the single crystal thin films was investigated by the photoluminescence and double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD). The carrier density and mobility of $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films measured with Hall effect by van der Pauw method are $5.01\times10^{17}cm^{-3}$ and $245cm^2/V{\cdot}s$ at 293K. respectively. The temperature dependence of the energy band gap of the $CuGaSe_2$ obtained from the absorption spectra was well described by the Varshni's relation, $E_g$(T)=1.7998 eV-($8.7489\times10^{-4}$ eV/K)$T^2$/(T+335K). After the as-grown $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films was annealed in Cu-, Se-, and Ga-atmospheres, the origin of point defects of $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films has been investigated by the photoluminescence(PL) at 10 K. The native defects of $V_{CU},\;V_{Se},\;Cu_{int}$ and $Se_{int}$ obtained by PL measurements were classified as a donors or acceptors type. And we concluded that the heat-treatment in the Cu-atmosphere converted $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films to an optical n-type. Also, we confirmed that Ga in $CuGaSe_2$/GaAs did not form the native defects because Ga in $CuGaSe_2$ single crystal thin films existed in the form of stable bonds.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.180-183
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• 2014

The surface of semiconductor solar cells, such as a-Si or CIGS (CuInGaSe) solar cells is not flat but textured in the microscopic domain. With textured surfaces, the optical reflectivity of a solar cell is different from that of flat surfaces in the wavelength region. In this paper, the effects of a textured surface on a CIGS solar cell are presented by RCWA (Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis) method. The effect of incoherent light is also considered by RCWA with a Fourier analysis while conventional optical simulation uses the input light on the solar cell as coherent light. Using experimental results, the author showed that the RCWA method with a Fourier analysis is a proper method to simulate the optical properties of CIGS solar cells.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1998.07d
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• pp.1264-1267
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• 1998

$Cu(In_xGa_{1-x})Se_2$ thin films were prepared and characterized with various Ga contents. As the Ga content increased, the grain size of CIGS film became smaller. The 2 $\theta$ values in XRD patterns were shifted to larger values and the overlapped peaks were splitted. The energy bandgap increased from 1.04 to 1.67 eV and the resistivity decreased. The solar cell fabricated with ZnO/CdS/$Cu(In_{0.7}Ga_{0.3})Se_2/Mo$ structure yielded an efficeincy of 14.48% with an acitive area of 0.18 $cm^2$. The efficiency decreased with further increase of Ga content.

• 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.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2014

High-efficiency in $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) solar cells were usually achieved on soda-lime glass substrates due to Na incorporation that reduces deep-level defects. However, this supply of sodium from sodalime glass to CIGS through Mo back electrode could be limited at low deposition temperature. Na content could be more precisely controlled by supplying Na from known amount of an outside source. For the purpose, an $Na_2S$ layer was deposited on Mo electrode prior to CIGS film deposition and supplied to CIGS during CIGS film. With the $Na_2S$ underlayer a more uniform component distribution was possible at $350^{\circ}C$ and efficiency was improved compared to the cell without $Na_2S$ layer. With more precise control of bulk and surface component profile, CIGS film can be deposited at low temperature and could be useful for flexible CIGS solar cells.