Cu(In,Ga)Se(2) Thin Film Preparation from a Cu(In,Ga) Metallic Alloy and Se Nanoparticles by an Intense Pulsed Light Technique

Abstract

The main contribution of this paper is the development of a novel process for the formation of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) films. CIGS films with a thickness of 4 mu m and grain size from 0.3 mu m to 1 mu m were prepared from a Cu(In0.7Ga0.3) (CIG) metallic alloy and Se nanoparticles by the intense pulsed light (IPL) technique. The melting of the CIG and Se nanoparticles and nucleation of CIGS occurred in a very short reaction time of 2 ms. It is believed that the Se diffuses into the CIG lattice to form the CIGS chalcopyrite crystal structure. The tetragonal chalcopyrite crystal structure was confirmed by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), while the microstructure and composition were determined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy.