Sodium-doped molybdenum targets for controllable sodium incorporation in CIGS solar cells

The efficiency of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells is enhanced when Na is incorporated in the CIGS absorber layer. This work examines Na incorporation in CIGS utilizing Na-doped Mo sputtered from targets made with sodium molybdate-doped (MONA) powder. Mo:Na films with varying thicknesses were sputtered onto Mo-coated borosilicate glass (BSG) or stainless steel substrates for CIGS solar cells. By use of this technique, the Na content of CIGS can be varied from near-zero to higher than that obtained from a soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate. Targets and deposition conditions are described. The doped Mo films are analyzed, and the resulting devices are compared to devices fabricated on Mo-coated SLG as well as Mo-coated BSG with NaF. Completed devices utilizing MONA exceeded 15.7% efficiency without anti-reflective coating, which was consistently higher than devices prepared with the NaF precursor. Strategies for minimizing adhesion difficulties are presented.