The present invention relates to a light absorbing layer forming method.
It has been reported that a CIGS thin layer was formed by depositing Se separately from other components to avoid the damage to the layer by negative ions of Se and a final product has attained a power conversion efficiency exceeding 10% (T. Nakada et al. “Micro-structure Characterization for Sputter-Deposited CuInSe2 Films and Photovoltaic Device” Jpn. Appl. Phys. 34, 1995, pp. 371-375). However, this method involves such a problem that a Cu target and an In target may be contaminated with vapor of Se and compounds such as CuSe and InSe are produced on their contaminated surfaces, resulting in unstable sputtering.
There is known a conventional method of forming a light absorbing layer of CIGS, which is a so called selenization method by which a Se compound is formed by thermo-chemical reaction of a thin-film metal precursor with Se supplied from a source such as H2Se gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4798660 discloses a method in which a thin metal film with a metal back-electrode layer, a pure copper (Cu) single layer and a pure indium (In) single layer sequentially deposited thereon by a DC magnetron sputtering method is selenized in an atmosphere of Se (preferably in H2Se gas) to produce a light absorbing layer having a homogeneous composition of CIGS (copper indium diselenium).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,745 discloses a method of forming a CIGS thin film by thermally treating a precursor laminated of a Cu—Ga alloy layer and a pure indium layer in the atmosphere of Se. In this instance, the Ga contained in the thin film of CIGS segregates to the Mo electrode layer, whereby the adhesion between the light absorbing layer and the Mo electrode layer is improved. This improves the performance of the solar cell using the CIGS layer.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei-10-135495 describes a metal precursor which is formed by sputtering first with a target of Cu—Ga alloy and then with a target of pure indium. As shown in
However, this precursor 3′ being a laminate of a Cu—Ga alloy layer 31 and a sole In layer 32 may be subjected to solid-state diffusion of elements which react with one another to form an alloy Cu—In—Ga at a boundary between the laminated layers both in process of forming the precursor and in the state of being temporarily stored. This reaction progresses during the selenization of the precursor. As it is difficult to evenly control the alloying reaction process between samples (requiring control of parameters relating to the alloying reaction, for example, temperature, time, etc), the quality of samples of the light absorbing layers 4 may vary considerably. The aggregation of indium is apt to occur, resulting in uneven composition in the layer.
In Japanese laid-open Patent publication No. Hei-10-330936, there is disclosed an opposite target type sputtering apparatus for high-speed formation of films on a cooled substrate by using a pair of opposite targets of the same material, in which a space between the paired target is surrounded by a magnetic field to collect sputter plasma therein and deposit a film on the substrate disposed as facing to one of open sides of the space between the targets.
The foregoing methods of manufacturing a light absorbing thin layer of CIGS by heat-treatment in a selenium atmosphere of a laminated precursor film formed in advance by sputtering Ib-IIIb group metals one after another involve a common problem of deterioration in quality of the finished product due to reaction of alloying elements at the boundary between the Cu—Ga layer and the In layer of the precursor, which reaction may progress through the manufacturing processes.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a thin-film light absorbing layer by first forming a precursor film of Ib-IIIb group metals by sputtering and then treating by heat the precursor in an atmosphere of selenium to produce a thin-film of CIGS, wherein the precursor is formed by simultaneously sputtering from a pair of different metal targets disposed opposite to each other to deposit a mixture of sputtered particles on a Mo layer formed on a substrate. This precursor has a well mixed single-layered (not laminated) structure, which is free from alloying reaction of elements at a boundary of layers of a laminated precursor obtained by the conventional method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a light absorbing layer of a solar cell, whereby a thin-film single-layered (i.e., not laminated) precursor is formed by simultaneously supplying Ib group metals and IIIb group metals and then subjected to heat-treatment in an atmosphere of selenium gas. The single-layered precursor can be free from the reaction of alloying elements at a boundary between layers of a laminated precursor obtained by the conventional method.
As shown in
When the Cu—Ga target T1 and the In target T2 are simultaneously excited, particles are sputtered from paired targets and reach the surfaces of the opposite targets. As a result, particles of three different metal elements Cu, Ag and In are mixed at the surface of each of the targets and then sputtered again therefrom and deposited onto the molybdenum electrode layer 2 of the substrate. An alloy precursor 3 of Cu, Ga and In is thus formed. In this instance, some of the particles sputtered from each of targets Ti (Cu—Ga) and T2 (In) may not be directed to the opposite target and are directly deposited on the electrode layer 4 but it is a very small amount because of the small probability of such sputtering angles. Most particles of three kinds of metal elements are deposited as a well mixed state on the electrode layer formed on the substrate.
In other words, the metal precursor 3 obtained by the method according to the present invention is composed of well mixed particles Cu—Ga—In deposited in a single layer whereas the metal cursor obtained by the conventional method are laminated of a thin layer of Cu—Ga and a thin layer of In.
As compared with the conventional laminated metal precursor, the metal precursor 3 of the present invention possesses a uniform distribution therein of metal elements Cu, Ga and In, which can prevent the progress of forming an alloy by diffusion of metal elements in solid layers. The precursor 3 thus obtained can be evenly selenized by the heat treatment process.
Consequently, the precursor thus formed and treated by heat to form the light absorbing layer can also prevent the occurrence of a different crystal layer (different from the crystal structure to be expected) in the thin film compound semiconductor solar cell (a final product), which is a factor in the deterioration of the solar cell. The precursor 3 has a pseudo amorphous structure which is effective to achieve a high quality of a thin CIGS film of the light absorbing layer. The metal precursor 3 is an alloy composed of three metal elements, which can prevent the product solar cell from being short-circuited.
The above-described simultaneous sputtering of both targets T1 and T2 makes it possible to form the precursor 3 at a high speed. The precursor thus formed in a single thin layer composed of three metals (Cu, Ga, In) uniformly distributed therein is then treated by heat in an atmosphere of selenium (Se) to form a selenized thin-film of Cu (In+Ga) Se2, which is a light-absorbing layer (p-type semiconductor) possessing a high quality and high performance. The solar cell product having a light-absorbing layer 4 thus formed according to the present invention has been proved to show a power conversion efficiency exceeding 15%.
According to the present invention, when forming a metal precursor on a substrate by the opposite target type sputtering method, it is possible to use as paired opposite targets, not limited to a combination of Cu—Ga and In targets, other combinations of Cu—Ga and In targets, Cu and In or Al, and Cu and In—Cu. Basically, it is possible to apply a combination of two of the three metal groups Ib-IIIb (alloy metal), Ib (metal) and IIIb (metal).
As is apparent from the foregoing, the light absorbing layer forming method according to the present invention can produce a thin-film CIGS light-absorbing layer by forming a thin-film precursor of Ib-IIIb group metals by sputtering and treating by heat the precursor in a selenium atmosphere, wherein particles are sputtered from a pair of oppositely disposed targets, one of which is a carrier of an alloy Ib group-IIIb group metals and the other is a carrier of a single Ib group metal or IIIb group metal, and the metals from two opposite targets are well mixed to form a thin-film single-layered precursor featured by an even distribution therein of the metal elements sputtered from the respective target materials, which precursor can also be uniformly selenized by the following heat-treatment process. Thus, the application of the above-described method makes it possible to form a high quality light-absorbing layer at a high speed and can thereby contribute to improve the productivity of compound semiconductor solar cells.
According to the light-absorbing layer forming method of the present invention, a light-absorbing layer of a compound semiconductor solar cell can be produced by a process of forming a thin single layer of an alloy precursor by simultaneously sputtering Ib group metal element and IIIb group metal element and by a proceeding process of selenizing the formed precursor by exposing to selenium gas, wherein the thin-film precursor formed with well mixed Ib group and IIIb group metal elements and then uniformly selenized. Thus, the above method makes it possible to forma high-quality light-absorbing layer for a solar cell at a high speed and can thereby increase the productivity of compound semiconductor solar cells.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2001-244973 | Jul 2001 | JP | national |
2001-348084 | Oct 2001 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP02/05730 | 6/10/2002 | WO |