Abstract
Easily processed, low cost, and highly efficient solar cells are desirable for photovoltaic conversion of solar energy to electricity. We present the fabrication of precursor solution processed CuInGaS2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells on transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates. The CIGS absorber film was prepared by a spin-coating method, followed by two successive heat treatment processes. The first annealing process was on a hot plate at 300 °C for 30 min in air to remove carbon impurities in the film; this was followed by a sulfurization process at 500 °C in an H2S(1%)/Ar environment to form a polycrystalline CIGS film. The absorber film with an optical band-gap of 1.52 eV and a thickness of about 1.1 µm was successfully synthesized. Because of the usage of a transparent glass substrate, a bifacial CIGS thin film device could be achieved; its power conversion efficiency was measured to be 6.64% and 0.96% for front and rear illumination, respectively, under standard irradiation conditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
B. P. Jelle and Ch. Breivik, Energy Procedia, 20, 68 (2012).
R. Baetens, B.P. Jelle and A. Gustavsen, Sol. Energ. Mater. Sol. Cells, 94, 87 (2010).
J. A. Hollingsworth, K. K. Banger, M. H. C. Jin, J.D. Harris, J. E. Cowen, E.W. Bohannan, J.A. Switzer, W.E. Buhro and A.F. Hepp, Thin Solid Films, 431-432, 63 (2003).
M. Green, SOLAR CELLS: Operating Principles, Technology and System Applications, Prentice-Hall New Jersey, USA (1982).
S. Siebentritt, Thin Solid Films, 403-404, 1 (2002).
H. K. Kwon, K.T. Lee, K. Hur, S. H. Moon, M. M. Quasim, T.D. Wilkinson, J.Y. Han, H.D. Ko, I.K. Han, B. Park, B.K. Min, B.K. Ju, S. M. Morris, R. H. Friend and D. H. Ko, Adv. Energy Mater., 5, 1401347 (2015).
S. H. Moon, S. J. Park, Y. J. Hwang, D. K. Lee, Y. Cho, D.W. Kim and B. K. Min, Sci. Rep., 4, 4408 (2014).
T. Nakada, Y. Hirabayashi, T. Tokado, D. Ohmori and T. Mise, Sol. Energy, 77, 739 (2004).
S. Nishiwaki, S. Siebentritt, P. Walk and M.Ch. Lux-Steiner, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl., 11, 243 (2003).
W. Wang, Y.W. Su and C. H. Chang, Sol. Energ. Mater. Sol. Cells, 95, 2616 (2011).
D.Y. Lee, S. J. Park and J.H. Kim, Curr. Appl. Phys., 11, S88 (2011).
M.G. Park, S. J. Ahn, J.H. Yun, J.H. Gwak, A. Cho, S.K. Ahn, K. S. Shin, D. H. Nam, H. S. Cheong and K. H. Yoon, J. Alloys Compd., 513, 68 (2012).
A. Cho, S. J. Ahn, J. H. Yun, J. H. Gwak, S. K. Ahn, K. S. Shin, H. J. Song and K. H. Yoon, Sol. Energ. Mater. Sol. Cells, 109, 17 (2013).
L. Li, N. Coates and D. Moses, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 132, 22 (2010).
S. J. Park, J.W. Cho, J.K. Lee, K. Shin, J.H. Kim and B.K. Min, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl., 22, 122 (2014).
J. Tauc, Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, Plenum Press, New York (1974).
S. Merdes, D.A. Ras, R. Mainz, R. Klenk, M. Ch. L. Steiner, A. Meeder, H.W. Schock and J. Klaer, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl., 21, 88 (2013).
R. Kaigawa, A. Neisser, R. Klenk and M.Ch.L. Steiner, Thin Solid Films, 415, 266 (2002).
A. Chirila, P. Reinhard, F. Pianezzi, P. Bloesch, A.R. Uhl, C. Fella, L. Kranz, D. Keller, Ch. Gretener, H. Hagendorfer, D. Jaeger, R. Erni, S. Nishiwaki, S. Buecheler and A. N. Tiwari, Nat. Mater., 12, 1107 (2013).
M. Gloeckler and J.R. Sites, J. Phys. Chem. Solids, 66, 1891 (2005).
C. Frisk, C. P. Björkman, J. Olsson, P. Szaniawski, J.T. Wätjen, V. Fjällström, P. Salomé and M. Edoff, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 47, 485104 (2014).
V. B. Chu, J.W. Cho, S. J. Park, Y. J. Hwang, H. K. Park, Y.R. Do and B. K. Min, Nanotechnology, 25, 125401 (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chu, V.B., Park, S.J., Park, G.S. et al. Semi-transparent thin film solar cells by a solution process. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 33, 880–884 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-015-0200-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-015-0200-1