High-efficiency copper ternary thin-film solar cells: Final subcontract report, 1 May 1985--28 February 1987

This report contains research results on the fabrication of high-efficiency, thin-film solar cells with electroplated CuInSe/sub 2/ (CIS) films. A small-area solar cell was fabricated with a conversion efficiency of 10.4%, an open-circuit voltage of 455 mV, a short-circuit current density of 41.4 mA/cm/sup 2/, and a fill factor of 55.4%. These results indicate that high-efficiency CIS/CdS solar cells can be fabricated using electroplated CIS films. Special attention was paid to the effect of substrates on the quality of both the CIS films and the devices. A process was developed to prepare glass/Mo substrates by electron-beam (E-beam) evaporation instead of the more commonly used sputtering technique. Unlike the sputtered Mo/glass substrates, the E-beam-evaporated substrates were free of stresses and showed very good adhesion of the Mo layer to the glass. Selenization studies were carried out to understand time and temperature effects on the formation of various phases before single-phase CIS is formed in the electroplated films. 5 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.