Metallic alloy nanoparticle-based fabrication and optical properties of a Cu(In₁ _&#x2212; <i> _x </i>Ga<i> _x </i>)S₂ absorber layer for solar cells

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>A highly-densified Cu(In<SUB>1</SUB> <SUB>−</SUB> <I> <SUB>x</SUB> </I>Ga<I> <SUB>x</SUB> </I>)S<SUB>2</SUB> (CIGS2) absorber layer was fabricated using copper, indium and gallium (CIG) metallic alloy nanoparticles synthesized by salt-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (SAUSP) followed by direct thermal reduction. The reduction process in salt matrix minimized aggregation of CIG metallic alloy nanoparticles that have the potential to lead to higher film densification during sulfurization. To optimize the amount of salt, various NaCl/precursor ratios were used for SAUSP and Cu–In metallic alloy nanoparticles with average particle size of 79nm were obtained. The CIGS2 obtained in the present study exhibited a variable band-gap ranging from 1.46 to 2.4eV depending on the Ga/(In+Ga) ratio, which corresponded to the respective bulk materials.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> CIGS2 absorber is obtained using Cu, In and Ga (CIG) metallic alloy nanoparticles. </LI> <LI> 79nm CIG metallic alloy nanoparticles are obtained by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. </LI> <LI> CIG metallic alloy nanoparticles improve the CIGS2 film densification. </LI> <LI> The band gap of CIGS2 can be controlled by introducing the desired precursor ratio. </LI> </UL> </P>