CuInSe(2) (CIS) absorber layers for thin film solar cells were formed via a nonvacuum route using nanoparticle precursors. A low-temperature colloidal process was used to prepare nanoparticles by which amorphous Cu-In-Se nanoparticles were formed within 1 min of reaction without any external heating. Raman spectra of the particles revealed that they were presumably mixtures of amorphous Cu-Se and In-Se binaries. Selenization of the precursor film prepared by doctor blade coating of the Cu-In-Se nanoparticles resulted in a facile growth of the particles up to micrometer scale. However, it also left large voids in the final film, which acted as short circuiting paths in completed solar cells. To solve this problem, we applied a solution-filling treatment in which a solution containing Cu and In ions was additionally coated onto the precoated nanoparticles, resulting in a complete infiltration of the filler solution into the pores in the nanoparticles based film. By this approach, short circuiting of the device was significantly mitigated and a conversion efficiency of up to 1.98% was obtained.
© 2012 American Chemical Society