Application of femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for quantitative analysis of thin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell films

Abstract

This work reports that the composition of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin solar cell films can be quantitatively predicted with high accuracy and precision by femtosecond laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (fs-LA-ICP-MS). It is demonstrated that the results are strongly influenced by sampling conditions during fs-laser beam (λ = 1030 nm, τ = 450 fs) scanning on the CIGS surface. The fs-LA-ICP-MS signals measured at optimal sampling conditions generally provide a straight line calibration with respect to the reference concentrations measured by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The concentration ratios predicted by fs-LA-ICP-MS showed high accuracy, to 95-97% of the values measured with ICP-OES, for Cu, In, Ga, and Se elements.

Quantitative Analysis and Band Gap Determination for CIGS Absorber Layers Using Surface Techniques

“…The R 2 values of the linear fitting on the calibration curve for Ga/Cu and Ga/Se were close to 0.97, whereas the In/Se ratio had a lower value (0.85). Lower R 2 values in the calibration curve, including for In, were also observed in the previous study by Lee et al [ 18 ]. This result might be due to the mass difference and physical properties of In compared to other major elements (Cu, Ga, and Se).…”

“…To find a fast, accurate, and reliable technique that can be readily applied for the quantification of CIGS absorber layers, fs -LA-ICP-MS was used and compared with other techniques. Calibration curves were generated for the fs -LA-ICP-MS signal ratios of the major elements with reference materials that were quantified by XRF [ 18 ]. Then, fs -LA-ICP-MS was performed to obtain the elemental concentration ratios of the samples.…”

“…Many research groups have studied the composition of CIGS absorber layers through inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and wavelength-dispersed electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) [ 11 – 14 ]. Recently, femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( fs -LA-ICP-MS) has been applied for the analysis of CIGS solar-cell film due to the sensitivity, rapid analysis, and minimal consumption of the region for an elemental analysis [ 15 – 18 ]. However, the above techniques have limitations in measuring the elemental concentration as a function of depth, and thus surface analytical techniques such as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) have been widely used [ 19 – 23 ].…”

Improvements in the direct analysis of advanced materials using ICP-based measurement techniques

“…87 A comparison between ns-LA-ICP-MS and fs-LA-ICP-MS for the analysis of boron in steel has been presented by Kurta et al 88 Besides the analysis of polymers and steels using LA-ICP-MS/ OES, also some applications for bulk analysis of materials used in semiconductor industry have been reported. Khvostikov et al 89 successfully quantied trace elements in lanthanum gallium silicate by LA-ICP-MS, Lee et al 90 investigated the composition of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin lms used for the production of solar cells. Cakara et al 91 recently presented a multi-variate calibration method for the analysis of Mo-Si-B alloys used as oxidation resistant coating.…”

Novel 2D binning approach for advanced LIMS depth profiling analysis

“…In recent years, the application of measurement techniques that are coupled to a laser ablation source, e.g. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) or Laser Ablation Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (LIMS), received increasing attention, particularly for the spatially resolved chemical analysis of industrially relevant materials, such as multi-layered devices from the microchip industry, 1,2 photovoltaic cells 3,4 or Li-ion batteries, 5 to name just a few examples. LIMS also became an important technique supporting quality control and technological development.…”