Impact of UV-induced ozone and low-energy Ar+-ion cleaning on the chemical structure of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 absorber surfaces

Van Maris, Victor R.; Hauschild, Dirk; Niesen, Thomas P.; Eraerds, Patrick; Dalibor, Thomas; Palm, Jorg; Blum, Monika; Yang, Wanli; Heske, Clemens; Weinhardt, Lothar

doi:10.1063/5.0020253

Impact of UV-induced ozone and low-energy Ar⁺-ion cleaning on the chemical structure of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ absorber surfaces

Journal Article · Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0020253· OSTI ID:1845095

Van Maris, Victor R. ^[1]; Hauschild, Dirk ^[2]; Niesen, Thomas P. ^[3]; Eraerds, Patrick ^[3]; Dalibor, Thomas ^[3]; Palm, Jorg ^[3]; Blum, Monika ^[4]; Yang, Wanli ^[4]; Heske, Clemens ^[2]; Weinhardt, Lothar ^[2]

Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany)
Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany); Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
AVANCIS GmbH, Munchen (Germany)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Dry buffer layer deposition techniques for chalcopyrite (CIGSSe)-based thin-film solar cells lack the surface-cleaning characteristics of the commonly used CdS or Zn(O,S) wet-chemical bath deposition. Here, a UV-induced ozone and/or a low-energy Ar⁺-ion treatment could provide dry CIGSSe surface cleaning steps. To study the impact of these treatments, the chemical surface structure of a CIGSSe absorber is investigated. For this purpose, a set of surface-sensitive spectroscopic methods, i.e., laboratory-based x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray-excited Auger electron spectroscopy, is combined with synchrotron-based soft x-ray emission spectroscopy. After treatment times as short as 15 s, the UV-induced ozone treatment decreases the amount of carbon adsorbates at the CIGSSe surface significantly, while the oxygen content increases. This is accompanied by the oxidation of all absorber surface elements, i.e., indium, selenium, sulfur, and copper. Short (60 s) low-energy Ar⁺-ion treatments, in contrast, primarily remove oxygen from the surface. Longer treatment times also lead to a removal of carbon, while extremely long treatment times can also lead to additional (likely metallic) Cu phases at the absorber surface as well.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1845095

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1770001

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 128; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Impact of UV-induced ozone and low-energy Ar+-ion cleaning on the chemical structure of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 absorber surfaces

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Impact of UV-induced ozone and low-energy Ar⁺-ion cleaning on the chemical structure of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ absorber surfaces