Characterization of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) films with varying gallium ratios

Cu(In_1-x,Ga_x)Se₂ (CIGS) absorber layers were deposited on molybdenum (Mo) coated soda-lime glass substrates with varying Ga content (described as Ga/(In + Ga) ratios) with respect to depth. As the responsible mechanisms for the limitation of the performance of the CIGS solar cells with high Ga contents are not well understood, the goal of this work was to investigate different properties of CIGS absorber films with Ga/(In + Ga) ratios varied between 0.29 and 0.41 (as determined by X-ray florescence spectroscopy (XRF)) in order to better understand the role that the Ga content has on film quality. The Ga grading in the CIGS layer has the effect causing a higher band gap toward the surface and Mo contact while the band gap in the middle of the CIGS layer is lower. Also, a wider and larger Ga/(In + Ga) grading dip located deeper in the CIGS absorber layers tend to produce larger grains in the regions of the films that have lower Ga/(In + Ga) ratios. Moreover, it was found that surface roughness decreases from 51.2 nm to 41.0 nm with increasing Ga/(In + Ga) ratios. However, the surface roughness generally decreases if the Ga grading occurs deeper in the absorber layer.