Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films without Ga segregation prepared by the single-step selenization of sputter deposited Cu-In-Ga-Se precursor layers

Abstract

We report a new approach to fabricating Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGSe) light absorbing layers for thin film solar cells without Ga segregation using a sputtering and single-step selenization process. To mitigate Ga segregation at the CIGSe/back-contact region, which has frequently been observed in the selenization of metal/alloy precursor layers, we used Se-containing precursor layers (Cu-In-Ga-Se) to capture Ga in covalently bonded structures and investigated the effects of Se content in the precursor layers on the properties of the selenized CIGSe films and the devices. As the Se content in the precursor layer increased, Ga segregation was significantly mitigated, resulting in a completely homogenized Ga distribution when the Se/metal ratio of the precursor films is over 0.8. Finally, a thin CIGSe film (∼670 nm) with a uniform Ga distribution was processed to fabricate a solar cell, and the device exhibited a conversion efficiency of 11.7% with an open circuit potential of 0.6 V. An increase of the CIGSe film thickness to 1.55 μm resulted in a device efficiency of up to 13.16%.