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Liquid Phase Deposition of Copper Indium Diselenide and the Effects of Sodium

Cowen, Jonathan Eric
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1373302614

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Materials Science and Engineering.
CuInSe2 has been a leading candidate material for absorber layers in photovoltaic devices for space applications due to its unique optical-electronic properties as well as its radiation resistance. The routinely achieved conversion efficiency of solar cells based on CuInSe2 thin films is still much less than the theoretical conversion efficiency 24%. This limit in achieving the theoretical efficiency may be attributed to current deposition techniques which yield films with a high density of structural defects (phase boundaries, grain boundaries, dislocations). By exploiting the newly established Cu–In–Se equilibrium phase diagram, we report on growing single-phase, coarse-grained films from off-stoichiometric growth solutions. The resulting films from liquid-phase deposition (LPD) techniques are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS). Ingots made for the LPD project are characterized by XRD, SEM, XEDS, and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The effects of Na are also examined. Sodium was purposely doped into the ingots for the growth of \ualpha-CIS. Sodium concentrations were confirmed with the aid of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). CIGS absorber layers, deposited at the Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC), were grown under identical conditions with the exception of one absorber layer contained Na and the other did not. These films are characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The combined work provide new insights to the role Na plays during film growth.
Frank Ernst, Dr (Advisor)
Pirouz Pirouz, Dr (Committee Member)
Gerhard Welsch, Dr (Committee Member)
Kathleen Kash, Dr (Committee Member)
234 p.
Materials Science
CuInSe2; CIS

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cowen, J. E. (2013). Liquid Phase Deposition of Copper Indium Diselenide and the Effects of Sodium [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1373302614

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cowen, Jonathan. Liquid Phase Deposition of Copper Indium Diselenide and the Effects of Sodium. 2013. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1373302614.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cowen, Jonathan. "Liquid Phase Deposition of Copper Indium Diselenide and the Effects of Sodium." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1373302614

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1373302614
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.