Vacuum Electrodeposition of Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Thin Films and Controlling the Ga Incorporation Route

The traditional electrochemical deposition process used to prepare Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) thin films has inherent flaws, such as the tendency to produce low-conductivity Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> phase and internal defects. In this article, CIGS thin fi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kanwen Hou, Guohao Liu, Jia Yang, Wei Wang, Lixin Xia, Jun Zhang, Baoqiang Xu, Bin Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Crystals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/2/319
Description
Summary:The traditional electrochemical deposition process used to prepare Cu(In, Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) thin films has inherent flaws, such as the tendency to produce low-conductivity Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> phase and internal defects. In this article, CIGS thin films were prepared under vacuum (3 kPa), and the mechanism of vacuum electrodeposition CIGS was illustrated. The route of Ga incorporation into the thin films could be controlled in a vacuum environment via inhibiting pH changes at the cathode region. Through the incorporation of a low-conductivity secondary phase, Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was inhibited at 3 kPa, as shown by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The preparation process used a higher current density and a lower diffusion impedance and charge transfer impedance. The films that were produced had larger particle sizes.
ISSN:2073-4352