Selenization: Formation of copper indium diselenide polycrystalline thin films for photovoltaic devices

Selenization is the reaction of thin copper and indium layers (less than 1 ;The metal deposition process must be controlled to produce indium-rich starting materials (Cu/In atomic ratio of 0.85 to 0.95) in order to compensate for the loss of volatile indium selenides during the selenization reactions. The heat treatment process must be controlled in such a way that stable copper-indium intermetallic phases form without resulting in undesirable oxidation of the metals. The reaction process must be designed such that sufficient selenium is liberated by pyrolysis of the source hydrogen selenide gas, as the overall rate of formation of the CuInSe;Thorough analysis of the selenization process has led to an increased understanding of the important processing issues which must be addressed during the development of large scale manufacturing processes and equipment for production of CuInSe...