Photoelectrochemistry of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-films fabricated by sequential pulsed electrodeposition

Mandati, S and Bulusu, V S and Dey, Suhash Ranjan and Joshi, S V (2015) Photoelectrochemistry of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-films fabricated by sequential pulsed electrodeposition. Journal of Power Sources, 273. pp. 149-157. ISSN 0378-7753

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Abstract

A novel approach for the fabrication of compact stoichiometric copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) thin-films is reported. It uses a solution of CuCl2, GaCl3 and H2SeO3, pH adjusted with HCl with LiCl as additive employing a high purity graphite plate anode and Mo sputtered glass cathode during a simplified sequential pulsed current electrodeposition which avoids impurities from the use of a reference electrode during deposition and a separate selenization step. A Cu-Ga-Se film is optimally deposited by optimizing the deposition voltage, followed by deposition of In from InCl3 solution, and then annealing of the Cu-Ga-Se/In thin-film in an Argon atmosphere at 550 °C. A single phase chalcopyrite CIGS forms with a compact morphology and well-controlled composition of individual elements. The flat-band potential and carrier density of CIGS thin-films are −0.15 V and 2.6 × 1016 cm−3, respectively, as determined by Mott–Schottky studies. The photoelectrochemical performance of CIGS films shows a photocurrent density of −0.8 mA cm−2 at −0.4 V vs. SCE, an eight fold increment compared to our previous reported value. This simplified preparation using pulse plating gives superior quality CIGS films which are promising for application in thin-film solar cells and photoelectrochemical cells.

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IITH Creators:

IITH Creators	ORCiD
Dey, Suhash Ranjan	http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5148-9534

Item Type:

Article

Additional Information:

Partial support under the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R) for the Solar Energy Institute for India and the United States (SERIIUS), funded jointly by the U. S. Department of Energy (under Subcontract DE-AC36-08GO28308 to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado) and the Government of India, through the Department of Science and Technology (under Subcontract IUSSTF/JCERDC-SERIIUS/2012) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank Mr. M. Ramakrishna, Mr. K. Ramesh Reddy and Mrs. A. Jyotirmayi for their help in characterization of samples. SM would like to thank Mrs. Ch. L. P. Pavithra for help in preparation of samples.

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-films; Pulsed current; Sequential electrodeposition; Photocurrent; Photoelectrochemical cells

Subjects:

Materials Engineering > Materials engineering

Divisions:

Department of Material Science Engineering

Depositing User:

Team Library

Date Deposited:

01 Dec 2014 05:42

Last Modified:

07 Sep 2017 07:23