High-density Cu–In intermetallic nanocrystal layers: towards high-efficiency printable CuInSe₂ solar cells

Abstract

The increase in the relative density of Cu–In intermetallic nanocrystal layers via a mild, wet-milling process resulted in low-bandgap CuInSe2 solar cells with the best power conversion efficiency of 9.32%.

11.3% efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin film solar cells via drop-on-demand inkjet printing

“…It is believed that one of the ways to reduce the production cost is to use solution processes, in particular the printing process, to fabricate solar cells. [6][7][8] Many groups have been working on different methods such as spin coating, [9][10][11][12][13] doctor blading [14][15][16][17][18] and spraying, [19][20][21] which are all based on either nanoparticle or molecular ink precursors. The best solar cell based on a solution process has an efficiency of 15.2% as reported by Todorov et al who fabricated the CIGSSe absorbers by using a hydrazine-based solution process.…”

Suppressed Formation of Conductive Phases in One-Pot Electrodeposited CuInSe2 by Tuning Se Concentration in Aqueous Electrolyte

“…The annealed CISe films were chemically etched in a 0.1 M KCN solution for 60 s to minimize conductive Cu x Se phases. Solar cells were fabricated in a conventional structure of Mo/CISe/CdS/ZnO/ZnO:Al/Ni/Al according to the standard procedure. , First, the CdS buffer layer (ca. 60 nm in thickness) was deposited on the annealed CISe films by means of chemical bath deposition for 15 min at 60 °C in a solution containing 2 mM CdSO 4 , 1.02 M NH 4 OH, and 84 mM thiourea.…”

Over 12% Efficient CuIn(S,Se)2 Solar Cell with the Absorber Fabricated from Dimethylformamide Solution by Doctor‐Blading in Ambient Air

“…Thus, developing a scalable deposition technique in ambient air is critically important for this technique to be applied to mature industrial processes. Among the scalable deposition techniques such as spray pyrolysis, [ 18,19 ] inkjet‐printing, [ 20,21 ] and doctor‐blading, [ 22–25 ] doctor‐blading is the most simple and easy‐control one that is compatible with high throughput roll‐to‐roll fabrication. However, unlike perovskite [ 26,27 ] and organic thin‐film solar cells [ 28,29 ] for which doctor‐blading has been extensively used and high performance has been realized, fabrication of chalcopyrite absorber through doctor‐blading is relatively rare.…”

“…The most successful examples are based on nanocrystal ink. For example, the Lee group [ 22 ] reported a 9.32% efficient CISSe solar cell, and the Agrawal group [ 23 ] reported a 15% efficient CIGSSe solar cell by doctor‐blading the corresponding nanoparticle inks. Given the complexity of nanocrystal synthesis and the stability issue of the nanocrystal inks, a molecular precursor solution is more desirable for industrial production because it can be simply formulated by dissolving chemicals with a designed ratio into the solvent.…”