DEVELOPMENT OF THIN FILM SYSTEMS FOR CIGS ON GLASS AND FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES AT VEECO INSTRUMENTS USING LINEAR EVAPORATION SOURCES

摘要

Recently there has been considerable activity scaling thin film photovoltaics from R&D to high volume manufacturing because of their low cost potential. The CIGS (copper, indium, gallium (di)selenide) manufacturing challenges focus on optimizing the deposition process for high material utilization and high throughput. Veeco has developed roll-to-roll and glass CIGS deposition systems utilizing a scalable and modular architecture. The CIGS systems incorporate thermal evaporation sources for Cu, In, Ga and Se. Two separate linear nozzles deliver metals and Se, respectively. True three-stage CIGS film processing can be achieved by including an appropriate number of these linear sources, with a continuous throughput of either flexible or flat-plate substrates. The linear source design optimization and configuration was accomplished through a modeling process that provides a fast and effective way to determine the impact of process and hardware constraints. Modeling predicts excellent film uniformities with material utilization of 75% for substrates up to 1.2 m. We will report here on the agreement between predicted and actual uniformity, and deposition rates and its impact on system cost of ownership.