Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T15:54:19.029Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Electrodeposited CIS-Based Solar Cell Materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

R.P. Raffaelle
Affiliation:
Physics and Space Sciences Department, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, [email protected]
T. Potdevin
Affiliation:
Physics and Space Sciences Department, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, [email protected]
J.G. Mantovani
Affiliation:
Physics and Space Sciences Department, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, [email protected]
R. Friedfeld
Affiliation:
Physics and Space Sciences Department, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, [email protected]
J. Gorse
Affiliation:
Baldwin-Wallace University, Berea, OH 44135
M. Breen
Affiliation:
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135
S.G. Bailey
Affiliation:
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135
A.F. Fhepp
Affiliation:
NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135
Get access

Abstract

We have been investigating the synthesis of novel materials and device structures based on CuInSe2 or CIS system We are interested in developing CIS for use in thin film photoltaic solar cells used in space power systems. Non-stoichiometric native defects allow CIS to be selectively doped n or p type by controlling the Cu to In ratio. The Cu to In ratio of an electrodeposited CIS thin film is shown to be directly proportional to the deposition voltage. This behavior has allowed us to deposit different semiconductor-type films, pn junctions, and multilayer structures from the same aqueous solution. The affect of annealing in an Argon atmosphere and the addition of a wetting agent to our deposition solutions on the structural and electrical behavior of our films was measured. A dramatic improvement in the crystallinity, which was proportional to the annealing temperature was observed. The addition of a wetting agent to the solution was shown to improve the surface morphology and provide uniformity in the grain size. The electrical characterization of Schottky barriers on the CIS showed a decrease in several orders of magnitude of the carrier density with annealing. The ability to incorporate our CIS-based films in pn junction devices using CdS window layers was demonstrated by the rectifying current versus voltage behavior of these junctions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Rockett, A. and Birkmire, R-W., J. AppL Phys. 70, R81(1991).Google Scholar
2 Tuttle, J.R., Ward, J., Duda, A., Berens, T., Contreras, M., Ramanathan, K, Tennant, A., Keane, J., Cole, E., Emory, K., and Noufi, R., Proc. Mat. Res. Soc. Symp., 426 (1996) 143.Google Scholar
3 Raffaelle, R.P., Mantovani, J.G., Friedfeld, R.B., Bailey, S.G., and Hubbard, S.M., 26th IEEE Photovolt. Spec. Conf(1997) 559.Google Scholar
4 Raffaelle, R.P., Mantovani, J.G., Bailey, S.G., Hepp, A.F., Gordon, E.M., and Haraway, R., Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. 485 (1997).Google Scholar
5 Raffaelle, R.P., Mantovani, J.G., Bailey, S.G., Hepp, A.F., Gordon, E.M., and Haraway, R., NASA/TM-97-206322 (1997).Google Scholar
6 Zhang, S.B., Wei, S., Zunger, A., Phys. Rev. Lett., 78, 21 (1997) 4059.Google Scholar
7 Qui, C.X. and Shih, I., Solar Energy Mater. 15 (1987) 219.Google Scholar
8 Sze, S.M., Physics of Semiconductor Devices (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1981).Google Scholar