Investigation of CuInSe2 Thin Films and CuInSe2 Nanowire Arrays Prepared by Using Electrodeposition Technology for Solar Cell Applications

Investigation of CuInSe2 Thin Films and CuInSe2 Nanowire Arrays Prepared by Using Electrodeposition Technology for Solar Cell Applications PDF Author: 洪品[kun]
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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The Development of CuIn1-xALSe2 Thin Films for Use in Photovoltaic Solar Cells

The Development of CuIn1-xALSe2 Thin Films for Use in Photovoltaic Solar Cells PDF Author: Paresh S. Nasikkar
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The aim of the work presented in this thesis was to develop CuInSe2 (CIS) and CuIni_?Al?Se2 (CIAS) thin films for application in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. The purpose of the addition of aluminium (Al) in CIS thin films was to modify the energy band gap of the thin films to be nearer to the optimum for PV energy conversion and to replace the less abundant element, gallium (Ga) in CuIni_, Ga, Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. This also makes possible the production of tandem solar cells using CIAS to make the wide energy band gap top cell and the CIS to make the narrow energy band gap lower cell. The use of very thin CIS and CIAS absorber layers in solar cell structures was also investigated; the aim was to reduce the amount of indium (In) in cell production. The CIS and CIAS absorber films were prepared by a sequential two step method in which Cu-In and Cu-In-Al precursor layers were magnetron sputter deposited onto Mo-coated soda lime glass (SLG) substrates; the CIS or CIAS was then formed by heating in a selenium (Se) containing environment. Thin film solar cells were developed in the substrate configuration and had the structure Ni-Al/Indium tin oxide (ITO)/i-ZnO/CdS/CIAS/Mo/SLG. In order to achieve high efficiency solar cells it is an important to optimse the back contact molybdenum (Mo) layer, the absorber layer, the CdS buffer layer, the window layer and top contact layers. The work described in this thesis focused on the optimisation of the back contact and absorber layers. The thin films were characterised mainly using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (MiniSIMS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and using spectroscopy measurements to investigate the effect of processing conditions on the composition, crystal structure, surface morphology and the optical properties of the films. The solar cells were characterised by current-voltage (/- V) and incident photon-to-photocurrent conversion efficiency (IPCE) measurements. Both Mo single and bilayer structures were investigated. It was found that single layers had better properties than Mo bilayers. The optimisation of the Mo deposition sputtering process yielded Mo layers which had good adherence and were conformal to the glass substrates, had low resistivity (29 if .cm), were pin hole free and had good crystallinity. The influence of Cu-In precursor layers with thicknesses in the range 90-400 nm on the microstructure of the CIS thin films (thicknesses in the range 400-1600 nm) was investigated. Solar cells fabricated from the CIS films of thicknesses 500 nm and 900 nm yielded highest cell conversion efficiencies of 4.3% and 8.2%, respectively. The selenisation of the magnetron sputter deposited Cu-In-Al precursor layers was carried out at a temperature of 550?C. Films were poor in surface quality and adhesion. Films prepared from the precursor layer with n [(Al/(Al+In))] = 0.21 had a non-uniform Al depth profile towards the bottom of the film. Although the film was found to be photoactive its effective energy band gap was 0.98 eV suggesting the properties of CIS. This confirmed incomplete mixing of Al in the thin films which was considered to be segregated at the bottom of the film. The thinner layers of Cu-In-Al precursors with thicknesses in the range 0.55?1.00 gm and n [(Al/Al+In)] in the range 0.28-0.54 were magnetron sputter deposited. The precursor layers showed the prominent binary A1Cu4 compound with a uniform distribution of Al in the layer. Thin films converted from these precursor layers of thicknesses in the range 1.3-2.0 pm were fairly uniform in surface structure. Films with x 0.2 were found to have an energy bandgap of 1.10 eV and were also photoactive. Solar cells fabricated from this absorber film yielded a highest cell efficiency of 4.9%. Environmental impact assessments have been made on materials and the processes used in the fabrication of CIS and CIAS and solar cells. It was found that there is no critical environmental impact of materials and associated processes involved in the fabrication of CIS and CIAS thin film solar cells.

Investigations of CuInSe Sub 2 Thin Films and Contacts

Investigations of CuInSe Sub 2 Thin Films and Contacts PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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This report describes research into electrical contacts for copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2) polycrystalline thin films used for solar cell applications. Molybdenum contacts have historically been the most promising for heterojunction solar cells. This program studied contact stability by investigating thermally induced bilayer reactions between molybdenum and copper, indium, and selenium. Because selenization is widely used to fabricate CuInSe2 thin films for photovoltaic cells, a second part of the program investigated how the morphologies, phases, and reactions of pre-selenization Cu-In structures are affected by the deposition process and heat treatments. 7 refs., 6 figs.

Electrochemical Deposition of CuInSe2 Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications

Electrochemical Deposition of CuInSe2 Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications PDF Author: Julia Kois
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789985596722
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Characterization and Nanostructure Analysis of Electrodeposited CuInSe2 Thin Film for Applications in Flexible Solar Cells

Characterization and Nanostructure Analysis of Electrodeposited CuInSe2 Thin Film for Applications in Flexible Solar Cells PDF Author: Huei-Hsin Chen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Copper indium selenide
Languages : en
Pages :

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Study of Cu(In,Al)Se2 Thin Films Prepared by Selenisation of Sputtered Metallic Precursors for Application in Solar Cells

Study of Cu(In,Al)Se2 Thin Films Prepared by Selenisation of Sputtered Metallic Precursors for Application in Solar Cells PDF Author: Rémi Aninat
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Cu-In, Cu-Al and Cu-In-Al metallic precursor layers were deposited using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and selenised to produce thin films of CuInSe2 (CIS), CuAlSe2 (CAS) and CuIn1-xAlxSe2 (CIAS), respectively. The selenisation stage of this 2-stage process was carried out in a tube furnace (TF) or a rapid thermal processor (RTP) in the presence of elemental Se, either deposited on top of the precursor film or provided from an external source in the chamber, in order to fabricate the chalcopyrite material. The aim was to produce single phase, device quality CIS, CAS and CIAS for use as an absorber layer material in thin film photovoltaic solar cells. Profilometry performed on the as-deposited Cu-In-Al metallic precursors showed an important increase in surface roughness compared to the Cu-In and Cu-Al precursors. This was found to be due to the preferential formation of Cu9(In,Al)4, which stoichiometry led the excess In to form island-shaped In phases at the surface of the bulk, while only Cu2In and CuIn2 formed in Cu-In precursors. Regarding the selenisation, temperatures ranging from 250°C to 550°C were used, and the resulting samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES). Thin films of single phase CIS and CAS were successfully produced with energy band gaps of 0.99 eV and 2.68 eV, respectively. However the incorporation of Al proved to be difficult. The results showed that no incorporation of the Al into the chalcopyrite lattice was achieved in the samples selenised in the RTP, which was believed to be due to the oxidation of the element Al into amorphous Al2O3. In the tube furnace, possibly due to lower levels of oxidation, incorporation occurred more readily but Al and In segregated towards the back and front of the layer, respectively. The causes of the segregation were studied and solutions to avoid it developed, resulting under certain conditions in successful production of CuIn1-xAlxSe2. Samples were tested in a photoelectrochemical cell and showed (apparent) external quantum efficiency values comparable to a CuInSe2 (CIS) sample used as a standard.

Pulsed Electrochemical Deposition of CuInSe2 and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Semiconductor Thin Films

Pulsed Electrochemical Deposition of CuInSe2 and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Semiconductor Thin Films PDF Author: Sreekanth Mandati
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Technology
Languages : en
Pages :

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CuInSe2 (CIS) and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) semiconductors are the most studied absorber materials for thin films solar cells due to their direct bandgap and large absorption coefficient. The highly efficient CIGS devices are often fabricated using expensive vacuum based technologies; however, recently electrodeposition has been demonstrated to produce CIGS devices with high efficiencies and it is easily amenable for large area films of high quality with effective material use and high deposition rate. In this context, this chapter discusses the recent developments in CIS and CIGS technologies using electrodeposition. In addition, the fundamental features of electrodeposition such as direct current, pulse and pulse-reverse plating and their application in the fabrication of CIS and CIGS films are discussed. In conclusion, the chapter summarizes the utilization of pulse electrodeposition for fabrication of CIS and CIGS films while making a recommendation for exploring the group's unique pulse electroplating method.

Nanoscale investigation of potential distribution in operating Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells

Nanoscale investigation of potential distribution in operating Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells PDF Author: Zhenhao Zhang
Publisher: KIT Scientific Publishing
ISBN: 386644978X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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The distribution of the electrostatic potential in and between the materials in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells has a major impact on their superior performance. This thesis reported on the nanoscale imaging of the electrostatic potential on untreated cross sections of operating Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells using Kelvin probe force microscopy.

Sub-Micrometer Thick Cuinse2 Films for Solar Cells

Sub-Micrometer Thick Cuinse2 Films for Solar Cells PDF Author: Deepa Kummattummal Govindan
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9783659128196
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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The mass consumption of fossil fuels, which are getting depleted and also causing pollution, has lead to the development of new source of energy called 'Photovoltaics'. CuInSe2 is identified as a potential candidate for thin film solar cells. CuInSe2-based solar cells need less semiconductor material and are potentially lighter and thinner than Silicon Solar Cells. The key issues in the field of CuInSe2 solar cells are developing simpler techniques for CuInSe2 preparation, reduction of thickness of absorber layer and replacement of CdS with non-toxic buffer layer. The present work addresses these issues. In this work, sub-micrometer thick CuInSe2 films were prepared using two different techniques. In the first case, chemical bath deposited Selenium was used and in the second, vacuum evaporated Se was used for selenization. These methods are simpler than co-evaporation technique, which is known to be the most suitable one for CuInSe2 preparation.Typical absorber layer thickness of today's solar cell ranges from 2-3 m. Thinning of the absorber layer is one of the challenges to reduce the processing time and material usage, particularly of Indium.

פני ארי'

פני ארי' PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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