Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers
Second-generation thin-film Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells are a well-established photovoltaic technology with a record power conversion efficiency of 23.6%. However, their reliance on critical raw materials, such as In and Ga, requires new approaches to reduce the amount of...
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/6/543 |
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| author | Marina Alves Pedro Anacleto Vasco Teixeira Joaquim Carneiro Sascha Sadewasser |
| author_facet | Marina Alves Pedro Anacleto Vasco Teixeira Joaquim Carneiro Sascha Sadewasser |
| author_sort | Marina Alves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Second-generation thin-film Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells are a well-established photovoltaic technology with a record power conversion efficiency of 23.6%. However, their reliance on critical raw materials, such as In and Ga, requires new approaches to reduce the amount of critical raw materials employed. The micro-concentrator concept involves the combination of thin-film photovoltaic technology with concentrator photovoltaic technology. This approach reduces the size of the solar cell to the micrometer range and uses optical concentration to collect sunlight from a larger area, focusing it onto micro solar cells. This work is devoted to the development of a process for manufacturing pre-structured substrates with regular arrays of holes with 200 and 250 µm diameters inside a SiO<sub>x</sub> insulating matrix. Subsequently, a Cu–In–Ga precursor is deposited by sputtering, followed by photoresist lift-off and the application of a Cu–In–Ga thermal annealing at 500 °C to improve precursor quality and assess pre-structured substrate stability under elevated temperatures. Finally, a two-stage selenization process leads to the formation of CIGS absorber micro-dots. This study presents in detail the fabrication process and explores the feasibility of a bottom-up approach using pre-structured substrates, addressing challenges encountered during fabrication and providing insights for future improvements in CIGS absorber materials. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:56:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1aa7f88260aa46b0ac7f19591ee39fd5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:56:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-1aa7f88260aa46b0ac7f19591ee39fd52024-03-27T13:57:38ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912024-03-0114654310.3390/nano14060543Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-AbsorbersMarina Alves0Pedro Anacleto1Vasco Teixeira2Joaquim Carneiro3Sascha Sadewasser4International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga s/n, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalInternational Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga s/n, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalCentre of Physics of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Azurém Campus, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalCentre of Physics of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Azurém Campus, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalInternational Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga s/n, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalSecond-generation thin-film Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells are a well-established photovoltaic technology with a record power conversion efficiency of 23.6%. However, their reliance on critical raw materials, such as In and Ga, requires new approaches to reduce the amount of critical raw materials employed. The micro-concentrator concept involves the combination of thin-film photovoltaic technology with concentrator photovoltaic technology. This approach reduces the size of the solar cell to the micrometer range and uses optical concentration to collect sunlight from a larger area, focusing it onto micro solar cells. This work is devoted to the development of a process for manufacturing pre-structured substrates with regular arrays of holes with 200 and 250 µm diameters inside a SiO<sub>x</sub> insulating matrix. Subsequently, a Cu–In–Ga precursor is deposited by sputtering, followed by photoresist lift-off and the application of a Cu–In–Ga thermal annealing at 500 °C to improve precursor quality and assess pre-structured substrate stability under elevated temperatures. Finally, a two-stage selenization process leads to the formation of CIGS absorber micro-dots. This study presents in detail the fabrication process and explores the feasibility of a bottom-up approach using pre-structured substrates, addressing challenges encountered during fabrication and providing insights for future improvements in CIGS absorber materials.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/6/543CIGSthin-film photovoltaicsmicro-concentrator photovoltaicssputteringmicro solar cell |
| spellingShingle | Marina Alves Pedro Anacleto Vasco Teixeira Joaquim Carneiro Sascha Sadewasser Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers Nanomaterials CIGS thin-film photovoltaics micro-concentrator photovoltaics sputtering micro solar cell |
| title | Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers |
| title_full | Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers |
| title_fullStr | Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers |
| title_short | Fabrication of Pre-Structured Substrates and Growth of CIGS Micro-Absorbers |
| title_sort | fabrication of pre structured substrates and growth of cigs micro absorbers |
| topic | CIGS thin-film photovoltaics micro-concentrator photovoltaics sputtering micro solar cell |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/14/6/543 |
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