Fabrication and study of photovoltaic material CuInxGa1−xSe2 bulk and thin films obtained by the technique of close-spaced vapor transport

We present the technique of preparation of the material photovoltaic CuInxGa1−xSe2 thin films for the fabrication of solar cells. Bulk materials were synthesized by the Bridgman technique using the elements, Cu, Ga, In and Se. We have realized thin films by close-spaced vapor transport (CSVT) in a closed tube where the iodine is the transport agent. The CSVT technique is simple [J. Appl. Phys. 84 (1998) 1; Thin Solid Films 226 (1993) 254], cheap and allows the production of samples with good crystalline qualities, in order to produce photovoltaic cells for solar energy conversion. The bulk samples and thin films were characterized by energy dispersive spectrometry, scanning electron microscope, hot point probe method and X-ray diffraction.