Low-temperature sintered CuIn0.7Ga0.3Se2 prepared by colloidal processing

The effects of different forming methods (dry pressing and centrifugal forming methods) on the densification and microstructure development of CuIn0.7Ga0.3Se2 (CIGS) nano-crystallites synthesized using the heating-up method were investigated in this study. The packing density and microstructure of the CIGS green body were improved significantly using the centrifugal forming method because it prevented inter-agglomerate pore formation. Sintered CuIn0.7Ga0.3Se2 ceramics with a relative density above 92% and average grain size of 2.7 μm can be obtained by centrifugal forming nearly mono-dispersed CuIn0.7Ga0.3Se2 nano-crystals and sintering at 550 °C for 3 h under Se2 atmosphere.