Evaluation of two-stage CuInGaSe2 evaporation for manufacturing scale-up

Two different two-stage CuInGaSe₂ (CIGS) co-evaporation processes were evaluated to compare laboratory to manufacturing scale deposition methods. The Cu-rich then Cu-off (CURO) process previously used at the laboratory scale was evaluated to determine the impact of deposition time, Se rate, and composition on the resulting films and devices. The overlapping plume (OP) process, as applied to a manufacturing system, was also evaluated to determine validity of the compositional growth model developed and resulting film properties as compared to the CURO process. For the CURO process results suggest deposition time affects overall efficiency, with highest devices resulting from longer deposition times. In the range evaluated the Se:metals rate ratio and film composition have minimal effect on device performance. For the OP process the model matches the experimental results well, and devices appear to perform on par with the CURO devices.