Sputter-deposited Mo thin films are commonly employed as a back contact layer for CIGS and CuInSe2 (CIS)-based solar cells; however, there are several difficulties in fabricating a qualified back contact layer. Generally, Mo thin films deposited at higher sputtering power and lower working gas pressure tend to exhibit lower resistivity; however, such films have a poor adhesion to the glass substrate. On the other hand, films deposited at lower power and higher gas pressure tend to have a higher resistivity, whereas the films exhibit an excellent adhesion to the glass substrate. Therefore, it has been a practice to employ multi-layered Mo thin film back contact layers to achieve the properties of good adhesion to the glass substrate and low resistivity simultaneously. However, multi layer processes have a lower throughput and higher fabricating cost, and requires more elaborated equipment compared to single layer processes, which are not desirable from the industrial point of view. As can be seen, above mentioned process parameters and the corresponding Mo thin film properties are at the two extreme ends of the spectrum. Hence experiments were conducted to find out the mechanisms which influence the properties of Mo thin films by changing the two process parameters of working gas pressure and sputtering power individually. The relationships between process parameters and above mentioned properties were studied and explained. It was found that by selecting the process parameters properly, less resistive, appropriate-surfaced, and highly adhesive single layer Mo thin films for CIGS solar cells can be achieved.

With further optimization of the reaction process of the absorber layer as well as the other layers higher efficiencies can be achieved. The effect of sodium on the device performance is experimentally verified in this work. To the best of our knowledge the detrimental effect of excess sodium has been verified by experimental data and effort has been made to correlate the variation in PV parameter to theoretical models of effect of sodium. It has been a regular practice to deposit thin barrier layer prior to molybdenum deposition to reduce the micrononuniformities caused due to nonuniform out diffusion of sodium from the soda lime glass. However, it was proven in this work that an optimally thick barrier layer is necessary to reduce the out diffusion of sodium to negligible quantities and thus reduce the micrononuniformities. Molybdenum back contact deposition is a bottleneck in high volume manufacturing due to the current state of art where multi layer molybdenum film needs to be deposited to achieve the required properties. In order to understand and solve this problem experiments were carried out. The effect of working distance (distance between the target and the substrate) on film properties was studied and is presented in this work. During the course of this work efforts were taken to carry out a systematic and detailed study of some of the fundamental issues related to CIGS technology and particular for high volume manufacturing of CIGS PV modules and lay a good foundation for further improvement of PV performance of CIGS thin film solar cells prepared by the two step process of selenization and sulfurization of sputtered metallic precursors.

The objective of this work is to prepare Molybdenum thin films to be used as efficient back contact materials and utilize characterization techniques for the investigation of the growth as well the physical properties of Mo thin films deposited through DC-plasma magnetron sputtering on soda lime glass substrate. The effects of process parameters, such as Ar pressure, deposition power and substrate temperature, on the properties of the deposited films have been studied. These process parameters were optimized to get high conductivity Mo thin films to be used in CIGS based thin films solar cells as a back contact.

Thin film solar cells have the potential to be an important contributor to the world energy demand in the 21st century. Among all the thin film technologies, CuInGaSe2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells have achieved the highest efficiency. However, the high price of photovoltaic (PV) modules has been a major factor impeding their growth for terrestrial applications. Reduction in cost of PV modules can be realized by several ways including choosing scalable processes amenable to large area deposition, reduction in the materials consumption of active layers, and attaining faster deposition rates suitable for in-line processing. Selenization-sulfurization of sputtered metallic Cu-In-Ga precursors is known to be more amenable to large area deposition. Sputter-deposited molybdenum thin film is commonly employed as a back contact layer for CIGS solar cells. However, there are several difficulties in fabricating an optimum back contact layer. It is known that molybdenum thin films deposited at higher sputtering power and lower gas pressure exhibit better electrical conductivity. However, such films exhibit poor adhesion to the soda-lime glass substrate. On the other hand, films deposited at lower discharge power and higher pressure although exhibit excellent adhesion show lower electrical conductivity. Therefore, a multilayer structure is normally used so as to get best from the two deposition regimes. A multi-pass processing is not desirable in high volume production because it prolongs total production time and correspondingly increases the manufacturing cost. In order to make manufacturing compliant with an in-line deposition, it is justifiable having fewer deposition sequences. Thorough analysis of pressure and power relationship of film properties deposited at various parameters has been carried out. It has been shown that it is possible to achieve a molybdenum back contact of desired properties in a single deposition pass by choosing the optimum deposition parameters. It is also shown that the film deposited in a single pass is actually a composite structure. CIGS solar cells have successfully been completed on the developed single layer back contact with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) certified device efficiencies [greater than]11%. The optimization of parameters has been carried out in such a way that the deposition of back contact and metallic precursors can be carried out in identical pressure conditions which is essential for in-line deposition without a need for load-lock. It is know that the presence of sodium plays a very critical role during the growth of CIGS absorber layer and is beneficial for the optimum device performance. The effect of sodium location during the growth of the absorber layer has been studied so as to optimize its quantity and location in order to get devices with improved performance. NREL certified devices with efficiencies [greater than]12% have been successfully completed.

Polycrystalline Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 (CIGS) thin film technology has emerged as a promising candidate for low cost and high performance solar modules. The efficiency of CIGS solar cells is strongly influenced by several key factors. Among these factors include Ga composition and its profile in the absorber layer, copper content in this layer, and the solar cell multilayer structure. As a result, tools for the characterization of thin film CIGS solar cells and their layer components are becoming increasingly essential in research and manufacturing. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a non-invasive technique that can serve as an accurate probe of component layer optical properties and multilayer structures, and can be applied as a diagnostic tool for real-time, in-line, and off-line monitoring and analysis in small area solar cell fabrication as well as in large area photovoltaics manufacturing. Implementation of spectroscopic ellipsometry provides unique insights into the properties of complete solar cell multilayer structures and their layer components. These insights can improve our understanding of solar cell structures, overcome challenges associated with solar cell fabrication, and assist in process monitoring and control on a production line. In this dissertation research, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 films with different Cu contents have been prepared by the one stage co-evaporation process. These films have been studied by real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) during deposition, and by in-situ SE at the deposition temperature as well as at room temperature to extract the dielectric functions (e1, e2) of the thin film materials. Analytical expressions for the room temperature dielectric functions were developed, and the free parameters that describe these analytical functions were in turn expressed as functions of the Cu content. As a result of this parameterization, the dielectric function spectra (e1, e2) can be predicted for any desired composition within the range of the samples investigated. This capability was applied for mapping the structural and compositional variations of CIGS thin films deposited over a 10 cm × 10 cm substrate area. In another application presented in this dissertation, a non-invasive method utilizing ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis has been developed and applied to determine non-destructively the Ga compositional profile in CIGS absorbers. The method employs parameterized dielectric function spectra (e1, e2) of CIGS versus Ga content to probe the compositional variation with depth into the absorber. In addition, a methodology for prediction of the external quantum efficiency (QE) including optical gains and losses for a CIGS solar cell has been developed. The methodology utilizes ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis of a complete solar cell, with no free parameters, to deduce the multilayer solar cell structure non-invasively and simulate optical light absorption in each of the layer components. In the case of high efficiency CIGS solar cells, with minimal electronic losses, QE spectra are predicted from the sum of optical absorption in the active layer components. For such solar cells with ideal photo-generated charge carrier collection, the SE-predicted QE spectra are excellent representation of the measured ones. Since the QE spectra as well as the short circuit current density (Jsc) can be calculated directly from SE analysis results, then the predicted QE from SE can be compared with the experimental QE to evaluate electronic losses based on the difference between the spectra. Moreover, the calculated Jsc can be used as a key parameter for the design and optimization of anti-reflection coating structures. Because the long term production potential of CIGS solar modules may be limited by the availability of indium, it becomes important to reduce the thickness of the CIGS absorber layer. Thickness reduction would reduce the quantity of indium required for production which would in turn reduce costs. A decrease in short-circuit current density (Jsc) is expected, however, upon thinning the CIGS absorber due to incomplete absorption. To clarify the limits of obtainable Jsc in ultra-thin CIGS solar cells with Mo back contacts, optical properties and multilayer structural data are deduced via spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis and used to predict the QE spectra and maximum obtainable Jsc values upon thinning the absorber. Moreover, SE-guided optical design of ultra-thin CIGS solar cells has been demonstrated. In the case of solar cells fabricated on Mo, thinning the absorber in a CIGS solar cell is associated with significant optical losses in the Mo containing back contact layers. This is due in part to the poor optical reflectance of Mo. Such optical losses may be reduced by employing a back contact design with improved reflectance. Thus, alternative novel solar cell structures with ultra-thin absorbers and improved back contact reflectance have been designed and investigated using SE and the optical modeling methods. In addition to optical losses, electronic losses in the ultra-thin solar cells have been evaluated. By separating the absorber layer into sub-layer regions (for example, near-junction, bulk, and near-back-contact) and varying carrier collection probability in these regions, the contribution of each region to the current can be estimated. Based on this separation, the origin of the electronic losses has been identified as near the back contact.

Thin Film Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties and Innovative Energy Applications provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis, properties, and cutting-edge applications of thin film nanomaterials. Each chapter explores different aspects of thin film synthesis and its application in energy devices, showcasing different metal-based and carbon nanomaterials . The book begins with a discussion on the synthesis and characterization of cadmium and zinc sulphide thin films for opto-electronics energy devices. Subsequent chapters delve into critical reviews of CIGS thin film nanomaterials, deposition techniques for metal oxide nanocomposite films, and nanostructured TiO2@carbon films for photocatalytic applications. Bandgap engineering, optical properties of composite films, and recent advancements in metal oxide thin films are also covered. Additionally, the synthesis and characteristics of iron oxide films for solar cell and green energy storage applications are discussed. Chapters on challenges and future prospects of CNT-based cathode emitters and advanced characterizations of nanocrystalline ferrimagnetic thin films provide valuable insights into emerging technologies. This book is an essential resource for professors, scientists, engineers, research scholars, postdocs, and undergraduate/graduate students seeking to explore the forefront of nanomaterials and their applications in energy systems.

Contributed articles with reference to India.