Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance
Heterojunction Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells comprise a substrate/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al. Here, Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were deposited by magnetron sputtering, and the substrate temperature was optimized for CIGS solar cells with two types of CIGS light absorbers w...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/19/3326 |
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| author | Hyeonwook Park Salh Alhammadi Vasudeva Reddy Minnam Reddy Chinho Park Woo Kyoung Kim |
| author_facet | Hyeonwook Park Salh Alhammadi Vasudeva Reddy Minnam Reddy Chinho Park Woo Kyoung Kim |
| author_sort | Hyeonwook Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heterojunction Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells comprise a substrate/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al. Here, Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were deposited by magnetron sputtering, and the substrate temperature was optimized for CIGS solar cells with two types of CIGS light absorbers with different material properties fabricated by three-stage co-evaporation and two-step metallization followed by sulfurization after selenization (SAS). The microstructure and optoelectronic properties of the AZO thin films fabricated at different substrate temperatures (150–550 °C) were analyzed along with their effects on the CIGS solar cell performance. X-ray diffraction results confirmed that all the deposited AZO films have a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure regardless of substrate temperature. The optical and electrical properties of the AZO films improved significantly with increasing substrate temperature. Photovoltaic performances of the two types of CIGS solar cells were influenced by changes in the AZO substrate temperature. For the three-stage co-evaporated CIGS cell, as the sputter-deposition temperature of the AZO layer was raised from 150 °C to 550 °C, the efficiencies of CIGS devices decreased monotonically, which suggests the optimum AZO deposition temperature is 150 °C. In contrast, the cell efficiency of CIGS devices fabricated using the two-step SAS-processed CIGS absorbers improved with increasing the AZO deposition temperature from 150 to 350 °C. However, the rise in AZO deposition temperature to 550 °C decreased the cell efficiency, indicating that the optimum AZO deposition temperature was 350 °C. The findings of this study provide insights for the efficient fabrication of CIGS solar cells considering the correlation between CIGS absorber characteristics and AZO layer deposition temperature. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:22:11Z |
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| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-e2d798f3d9394e16b73a4697ea8ff2f52023-11-23T21:18:15ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912022-09-011219332610.3390/nano12193326Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell PerformanceHyeonwook Park0Salh Alhammadi1Vasudeva Reddy Minnam Reddy2Chinho Park3Woo Kyoung Kim4Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), Naju 58330, Jeollanam-do, KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongbuk, KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongbuk, KoreaKorea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), Naju 58330, Jeollanam-do, KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongbuk, KoreaHeterojunction Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> (CIGS) solar cells comprise a substrate/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al. Here, Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were deposited by magnetron sputtering, and the substrate temperature was optimized for CIGS solar cells with two types of CIGS light absorbers with different material properties fabricated by three-stage co-evaporation and two-step metallization followed by sulfurization after selenization (SAS). The microstructure and optoelectronic properties of the AZO thin films fabricated at different substrate temperatures (150–550 °C) were analyzed along with their effects on the CIGS solar cell performance. X-ray diffraction results confirmed that all the deposited AZO films have a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure regardless of substrate temperature. The optical and electrical properties of the AZO films improved significantly with increasing substrate temperature. Photovoltaic performances of the two types of CIGS solar cells were influenced by changes in the AZO substrate temperature. For the three-stage co-evaporated CIGS cell, as the sputter-deposition temperature of the AZO layer was raised from 150 °C to 550 °C, the efficiencies of CIGS devices decreased monotonically, which suggests the optimum AZO deposition temperature is 150 °C. In contrast, the cell efficiency of CIGS devices fabricated using the two-step SAS-processed CIGS absorbers improved with increasing the AZO deposition temperature from 150 to 350 °C. However, the rise in AZO deposition temperature to 550 °C decreased the cell efficiency, indicating that the optimum AZO deposition temperature was 350 °C. The findings of this study provide insights for the efficient fabrication of CIGS solar cells considering the correlation between CIGS absorber characteristics and AZO layer deposition temperature.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/19/3326Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub>surface roughnessCIGSAZOtransparent conductive oxideTCO |
| spellingShingle | Hyeonwook Park Salh Alhammadi Vasudeva Reddy Minnam Reddy Chinho Park Woo Kyoung Kim Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance Nanomaterials Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> surface roughness CIGS AZO transparent conductive oxide TCO |
| title | Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance |
| title_full | Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance |
| title_fullStr | Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance |
| title_short | Influence of the Al-Doped ZnO Sputter-Deposition Temperature on Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> Solar Cell Performance |
| title_sort | influence of the al doped zno sputter deposition temperature on cu in ga se sub 2 sub solar cell performance |
| topic | Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> surface roughness CIGS AZO transparent conductive oxide TCO |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/19/3326 |
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