DEPOSITION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM DISELENIDE FILMS BY LASER-ABLATION AND FLASH EVAPORATION FOR USE IN SOLAR-CELLS

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin films have shown consider able promise for use as an absorber layer in high-efficiency solar cel ls. The initial results obtained from the preparation of CIGS firms vi a laser ablation and flash evaporation are presented along with a comp arison of the two deposition processes. The as-deposited CIGS films ha ve been characterized by a variety of techniques, namely Rutherford ba ck scattering and energy dispersive analysis using X-rays for composit ion measurements X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy for structur e elucidation, SEM for surface examination, and the four-point probe f or resistivity measurements. In essence, good-quality coatings of CIGS were produced from both deposition processes in terms of their stoich iometry, electrical and structural properties.