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In-Situ Investigation of Cu-In-Se Reactions by Thin Film Calorimetry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

D. Wolf  and
G. Müller
D. Wolf
Affiliation:
Crystal Growth Laboratory, Department of Material Science 6, University of Erlangen-Niimberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany, dwolf@ww.uni-erlangen.de
G. Müller
Affiliation:
Crystal Growth Laboratory, Department of Material Science 6, University of Erlangen-Niimberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany, dwolf@ww.uni-erlangen.de
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Abstract

Studies of the reaction path during annealing of Cu-In-Se thin films for solar cell absorbers have been limited up to now to ex-situ analyses of the phase composition by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) after processing by a specific temperature-time program. As an indirect method, the application of ex-situ XRD is not sufficient for the determination of reaction temperatures and reaction times for setting up a general model of CIS-formation.

We show in this paper that the use of a calorimetric method (Thin Film Calorimetry, TFC) offers the advantage of a direct (in-situ) observation of thin film reactions. Special care is taken to use film thicknesses of practical interest for industrial application (1.5 – 3 μm). In a first step we show results of binary reactions in the Cu-In, In-Se and Cu-Se systems. Their knowledge is necessary for understanding the processes involved in the ternary CIS-layers. It turned out that thin Cu-In and Cu-Se films react already at room temperature and behave as predicted by the bulk equilibrium phase diagrams during heating. In-Se thin films show prominent exothermic reactions starting with the melting of In. The first phase to be formed is generally In2Se which is then converted to more Se-rich compounds. In ternary Cu-In-Se films (Cu/In = 1.00) we observe transitions of the Cu-Se-system which can be attributed to the decomposition of CuSe2 and CuSe. Consequences for the model of improved CIS-growth by a Cu-Se flux agent are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 485: Symposium G – Thin Film Structures for Photovoltaics , 1997 , 173
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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