CuInS2 thin film prepared by molecular-solution printing technology and its photovoltaic properties

Abstract Developing efficient, low-cost fabrication technology is the basic requirement for large-scale commercial production of thin film solar cell. In present work, a non-vacuum molecular-solution printing technology was studied for the fabrication of CuInS 2 (CIS) thin film solar cell for the first time. Raw materials Cu 2 S and In 2 S 3 were dissolved by hydrazine to prepare molecular-solution. ɑ-Terpineol and ethyl-cellulose were added into the solution to increase the viscosity of the solution for printing. The printed CIS films were annealed and characterized. It is found that the precursor film includes raw materials Cu 2 S and In 2 S 3 . As the annealing process going, they change to CIS and In 2 S 3 , and finally to CIS which turns out apparent photovoltaic characteristic. Experiment results demonstrate the molecular-solution printing technology is simple, high-speed, large scalable and low-cost, which could contribute to the low-cost solar-to-electricity generation.