Ion-beam analysis of CuInSe2 solar cells deposited on polyimide foil

CuInSe(2) (CIS) solar cells deposited on polyimide foil by the Solarion company in a web-coater-based process using sputter and evaporation techniques were investigated in the ion beam laboratory LIPSION of the University of Leipzig by means of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) using high-energy broad ion beams and microbeams. From these measurements the composition of the absorber and the lateral homogeneity and film thicknesses of the individual layers could be determined on the basis of some reasonable assumptions. For the first time, quantitative depth profiling of the individual elements was performed by microPIXE measurements on a beveled section prepared by ion-beam etching of a CIS solar cell. Within the CIS absorber layer no significant concentration-depth gradients were found for Cu, In, and Se, in contrast with results from secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) depth profiling, which was applied to the same samples for comparison. Furthermore, both PIXE and SNMS showed the presence of a remarkable amount of Cd from the CdS buffer layer in the underlying absorber.