Influence of temperature and sputter source on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 SIMS depth profiles

The thin-film photovoltaic technology based on Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) has reached high conversion efficiencies exceeding 23%. The gallium gradient in the bulk and the amount of alkali metals in and between CIGS grains strongly affect the cell performance and therefore need to be accurately measured and quantified. ToF-SIMS is well suited for this task, but the spatial resolution is strongly influenced by the measurement parameters, especially at the required micrometer and nanometer scales. Such highly resolved measurements on CIGS surfaces are challenging. For instance, small copper aggregations occur in SEM images recorded after a focused ion beam (FIB) cut and change the energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results. SIMS systems that use an argon ion source generate Cu lamellas, which also influence the measurement. Both effects result from preferential sputtering. Cooling with liquid nitrogen can minimize this negative effect for both techniques. Recent developments in SIMS systems provide more options to avoid these effects. New sources, like the Bi liquid metal gun and cluster guns, are available. However, a systematic investigation on the effect of the ion sources on the sputter craters and the resulting measurement of CIGS absorber is necessary to choose an adequate setup. Thus, we performed a comparison of four different ion sources (argon ion gun, oxygen gun, cesium metal gun, and oxygen cluster gun) and measured CIGS depth profiles at three temperatures [-120 degrees C, -50 degrees C, and room temperature (RT)]. We investigate the influence of these conditions not only on the resulting SIMS depth profile and quantification but also on the morphology of the sputter crater.

Automated summary

The thin-film photovoltaic technology based on CIGS has achieved high conversion efficiencies. To accurately measure the gallium gradient and alkali metals in CIGS, ToF-SIMS is suitable but its spatial resolution is influenced by the measurement parameters. Small copper aggregations and Cu lamellas can affect the measurements due to preferential sputtering. Cooling with liquid nitrogen and new ion sources can minimize these effects.