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Microscopy Study of Polycrystalline Chalcopyrite Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

M.J. Witcomb  and
V. Alberts
M.J. Witcomb
Affiliation:
Electron Microscope Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050South Africa
V. Alberts
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Rand Afrikaans University, PO Box 524, Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa
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Extract

The I-III-VI (I= Cu, III= In and VI= Se) ternary chalcopyrite semiconductors are promising materials for the fabrication of thin film solar cells. The device properties of these polycrystalline CuInSe2-based solar cells are critically influenced by their structural features (i.e. grain sizes, uniformity and defect chemistry) and therefore require careful optimization. The structural features of the films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results from this fundamental study were used to compare and evaluate the respective thin film growth methods in terms of producing device quality material for solar cell application.

In order to investigate the influence of the structural properties on device performance, samples were prepared by various growth techniques. The composition (Cu/In atomic ratio) of the films as well as the growth conditions were varied in order to obtain optimum material properties. All films were deposited on Mo-coated glass substrates and the typical layer thickness were around 2μm.

Type
Films and Coatings
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 6 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis 2000, Microscopy Society of America 58th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 34th Annual Meeting, Microscopical Society of Canada/Societe de Microscopie de Canada 27th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania August 13-17, 2000 , August 2000 , pp. 460 - 461
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

References:

1.Tuttle, J.R. et al., Proc. IEEE First World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (1994) 1942.Google Scholar
2.Alberts, V et al, J. Mater. Science, 33 (1998) 2919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. This research was supported by NRF and MSRP.Google Scholar