Processing of Cunse2 Films for Photovoltaics

CuInSe2and related I-HI-VI2 compound semiconductors containing Ga and S are important photovoltaic materials with electrical and optical properties that can be tuned for optimum device performance. Polycrystalline thin films of ternary and multinary compounds from the Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2family have already yielded laboratory size solar cells with over 15 % efficiency. Large area photovoltaic modules with over 10% efficiency have also been demonstrated using these materials. In this contribution we present a brief review of the CuInSe2 material characteristics which are important to solar cell performance and their correlation with the processing variables. We concentrate on films obtained by the selenization technique. Selenization of Cu-In precursors is an approach that has yielded good quality CuInSe2films which have been used for the fabrication of high efficiency solar cells.