Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

Soltanmohammad, Sina; Chen, Lei; McCandless, Brian; Shafarman, William N.

doi:10.1109/jphotov.2016.2615682

Title: Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

Abstract

The Ag-Cu-In-Ga (ACIG) material system has been investigated over a composition range used for reaction to form (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se ₂ thin films for photovoltaic application. ACIG thin films were sputter deposited from Ag _0.77 Ga _0.23 , Cu _0.77 Ga _0.23 , and In targets using different layer sequences with Ag/(Cu + Ag) and (Ag + Cu)/(Ga + In) ratios fixed at 0.25 and 0.90, respectively. The most uniform morphology was achieved with a Ag-Ga layer followed by a layer with co-sputtered Cu-Ga and In. Varying the sputtering sequence for stacked layers resulted in dissimilar morphologies and structural phases. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that Ag-Ga and In layers intermix to form the (Ag,Cu)In ₂ phase in all Ag-containing samples except one with a Ag-Ga/Cu-Ga/In sequence. In addition, precursors were shown to be unstable during storage at room temperature, where a secondary (Ag,Cu * )In ₂ phase with higher Cu content formed. Lastly, phase composition of the precursors annealed at 300°C was characterized.

Authors:

Soltanmohammad, Sina ^[1]; Chen, Lei ^[1]; McCandless, Brian ^[1]; Shafarman, William N. ^[1]

Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

Publication Date:: Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016

Research Org.:: Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

OSTI Identifier:: 1780895

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007542

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 7; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2156-3381

Publisher:: IEEE

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 14 SOLAR ENERGY; (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2; Ag–Cu–Ga–In; co-deposited versus stacked; metal precursor; photovoltaic cells

Citation Formats


                    Soltanmohammad, Sina, Chen, Lei, McCandless, Brian, and Shafarman, William N. Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells.  United States: N. p., 2016. 
Web.  doi:10.1109/jphotov.2016.2615682.

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                    Soltanmohammad, Sina, Chen, Lei, McCandless, Brian, & Shafarman, William N. Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2016.2615682

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                    Soltanmohammad, Sina, Chen, Lei, McCandless, Brian, and Shafarman, William N. Mon .  
"Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1109/jphotov.2016.2615682.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1780895.

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@article{osti_1780895,

  title        = {Ag–Cu–In–Ga Metal Precursor Thin Films for (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells},

  author       = {Soltanmohammad, Sina and Chen, Lei and McCandless, Brian and Shafarman, William N.},

  abstractNote = {The Ag-Cu-In-Ga (ACIG) material system has been investigated over a composition range used for reaction to form (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se 2 thin films for photovoltaic application. ACIG thin films were sputter deposited from Ag 0.77 Ga 0.23 , Cu 0.77 Ga 0.23 , and In targets using different layer sequences with Ag/(Cu + Ag) and (Ag + Cu)/(Ga + In) ratios fixed at 0.25 and 0.90, respectively. The most uniform morphology was achieved with a Ag-Ga layer followed by a layer with co-sputtered Cu-Ga and In. Varying the sputtering sequence for stacked layers resulted in dissimilar morphologies and structural phases. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that Ag-Ga and In layers intermix to form the (Ag,Cu)In 2 phase in all Ag-containing samples except one with a Ag-Ga/Cu-Ga/In sequence. In addition, precursors were shown to be unstable during storage at room temperature, where a secondary (Ag,Cu * )In 2 phase with higher Cu content formed. Lastly, phase composition of the precursors annealed at 300°C was characterized.},

  doi          = {10.1109/jphotov.2016.2615682},

  journal      = {IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics},

  number       = 1,

  volume       = 7,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016},

  month        = {Mon Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016}

}

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