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Liquid-Phase Deposition of CIS 

Thin Layers 

Final Report 

February 2003 — July 2005 

F. Ernst and P. Pirouz 

Case Western Reserve University 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-520-39341 

February 2006 
Liquid-Phase Deposition of CIS 

Thin Layers 

Final Report 

February 2003 — July 2005 

F. Ernst and P. Pirouz 

Case Western Reserve University 

Cleveland, Ohio 

NREL Technical Monitor: B. von Roedern 

Prepared under Subcontract No. XDJ-3-30630-33 

Subcontract Report 

NREL/SR-520-39341 

February 2006 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

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Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

by Midwest Research Institute • Battelle 

Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337
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Table of Contents 

1 Liquid-Phase Deposition of α-CuInSe2 ......................................................................... 1 

2 Personnel........................................................................................................................ 3 

3 Experimental.................................................................................................................. 3 

3.1 Encapsulation of the Elemental Starting Materials in Fused Silica Tubes ............ 3 

3.2 Fusing of Starting Material for Liquid-Phase Deposition ..................................... 3 

3.3 Liquid-Phase Deposition in a Fused-Silica Tube................................................... 4 

3.4 Furnace................................................................................................................... 4 

3.5 The Sliding Boat Reactor....................................................................................... 4 

3.6 Transmission Electron Microscopy ....................................................................... 6 

4 Results............................................................................................................................ 7 

4.1 Ingots for Liquid-Phase Deposition....................................................................... 7 

4.2 Wetting Behavior................................................................................................... 8 

4.3 Viscosity ................................................................................................................ 9 

4.4 Thermogravimetric Analysis ................................................................................. 9 

4.5 Layers Deposited by the Sliding-Boat Mechanism ............................................. 11 

4.6 Single-Crystalline Substrates............................................................................... 13 

4.7 Grain Size............................................................................................................. 13 

4.8 Substrate Etching ................................................................................................. 14 

4.9 Electrical Behavior............................................................................................... 15 

4.10 Differential Thermal Analysis ........................................................................... 15 

4.11 Transmission Electron Microscopy ................................................................... 18 

5 Team Activities............................................................................................................ 20 

6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 20 

References........................................................................................................................ 21 

iii
List of Figures 

Figure 1: Liquidus projection of the Cu–In–Se phase diagram ........................................ 1 

Figure 2: The concept of liquid-phase deposition (LPD) ................................................. 2 

Figure 3: TEM image of α-CuInSe2 produced during experiments we carried 

out to determine the new phase diagram.......................................................... 3 

Figure 4: Deposition chamber of the new sliding-boat reactor......................................... 5 

Figure 5: Sliding boat of the new sliding-boat reactor ..................................................... 6 

Figure 6: TGA plot of all the ingots made with compositions designated in Table 1 ...... 9 

Figure 7: Surface morphology of an LPD-deposited film, exhibiting large grains with 

diameters > 10 μm......................................................................................... 11 

Figure 8: XRD pattern with strongest peak from the (112) growth plane (from sample 

SBD 3) ........................................................................................................... 12 

Figure 9: (a) The deposition reactor and the furnace. (b) Larger view of the new 

sliding-boat apparatus .................................................................................... 13 

Figure 10: Optial micrograph of a layer made by liquid-phase deposition from the 

second-generation sliding-boat apparatus, revealing dentric growth of 

α-CuInSe ........................................................................................................ 14 

Figure 11: Current–voltage curve of an LPD-grown film, revealing rectifying 

behavior.......................................................................................................... 15 

Figure 12: DTA (differential thermal analysis) of alloy I1b in Table 1 .......................... 16 

Figure 13: Modified sliding boat mechanism with two thermocouples and the linkage 

for the linear motion manipulation of the underlying substrates ................... 17 

Figure 14: The entire system (LPD reactor and DTA) in its final version at the end 

of the project .................................................................................................. 17 

Figure 15: DTA of pure indium....................................................................................... 18 

Figure 16: Bright field image on left (dark field on right) revealing course grain of 

deposited α-CuInSe2 ...................................................................................... 19 

Figure 17: CBED patterns recorded in <110>, <110>, and <112> direction .................. 19 

List of Tables 

Table 1: Ingots of the CuInSe2 alloys prepared and studied in Phase I ............................ 7

Table 2: XEDS data of CuInSe2 films fabricated by liquid-phase deposition................ 10

iv
1 Liquid-Phase Deposition of α-CuInSe2 

The goal of the project on which this report is based was to fabricate single-phase CIS (αCu–In–Se, stoichiometric composition: CuInSe2) thin films for photovoltaic applications 

from a liquid phase – a Cu–In–Se melt of appropriate composition. This approach of 

“liquid-phase deposition” (LPD) is based on the new phase diagram we have established 

for Cu–In–Se, the first complete equilibrium phase diagram of this system.1–3

 Fig. 1

shows the liquidus projection of the phase diagram – the surface indicating the 

temperature at which first solid material begins to form when cooling down from high 

temperatures at which the material is entirely liquid. The liquidus projection exhibits four 

composition fields in which the primary solid phase, i. e. the first solid material that 

forms on cooling down from an entirely liquid state, is α-CuInSe2. Remarkably, none of 

the four composition fields is anywhere near the stoichiometric composition (CuInSe2) of 

α-CuInSe2. 

Figure 1: Liquidus projection of the Cu–In–Se phase diagram. 

On freezing a melt in contact with a substrate, the solid will nucleate on the substrate. 

Therefore, it should be possible to grow single-phase α-CuInSe2 thin-films by (i) casting 

a melt with a composition within one of the four relevant fields of Fig. 1 onto a substrate, 

1
(ii) cooling it slowly to a temperature somewhat below the respective liquidus 

temperature, (iii) let a thin film form solidify on the substrate, and (iv) remove the 

remaining melt when the film has reached the desired thickness (Fig. 2).4 The amount of 

melt needs to be chosen sufficiently large, such that the formation of the α-CuInSe2 film, 

which incongruently depletes the melt of Cu, In, and Se, does not significantly alter the 

melt composition. Subsequently, the system is cooled to room temperature. 

Since the material freezing out from the melt would be single-phase α-CuInSe2 and 

solidifies under near-equilibrium conditions (small supercooling, small driving force), we 

anticipated substantially lower concentrations of structural defects than in PVD layers. 

This includes all varieties of structural defects: point defects, dislocations, grain 

boundaries, and phase boundaries (defects – by definition – are non-equilibrium 

features). Indeed, the TEM image of Fig. 3, obtained from α-CuInSe2 produced during 

the experiments carried out to determine the new phase diagram, reveals coarse-grained, 

pure α-CuInSe2 with a very low concentration of extended structural defects.4

 

Figure 2: The concept of liquid-phase deposition (LPD). (a) CuInSe2melt with a 

composition in one of the shaded fields in Fig. 1. (b) Deposition of a thin 

α-CuInSe2 film induced by slightly supercooling the melt in contact with a 

substrate.\ 

Based on the expected structural quality of the material, we anticipated substantial 

improvements in photovoltaic conversion efficiency. Moreover, the comparison between 

the anticipated, coarse-grained LPD material and fine-grained PVD material was 

supposed to provide deeper insight into the effect of grain boundaries on photovoltaic 

conversion in α-CuInSe2, for which a new model was recently proposed.5

2
Figure 3: TEM image of α-CuInSe2 produced during experiments we carried out to 

determine the new phase diagram. The diffraction pattern (inset) 

confirms that the region imaged here is a large grain of single-phase αCuInSe2. 

2 Personnel 

For the experimental part of the project, we engaged a highly qualified graduate student, 

Mr. Jonathan Cowen, to work on this project as part of his Ph. D. thesis. Mr. Cowen had 

previously received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cleveland State University. 

3 Experimental 

3.1 Encapsulation of the Elemental Starting Materials in Fused Silica Tubes 

We installed a hydrogen gas tank and a gas torch sufficiently powerful for melting thickwalled fused-silica tubes with a hydrogen flame. After cutting a section with a length of 

about 5 cm from a fused silica tube and cleaning the inner wall surface by chemical 

solvents, we closed one end of the tube by melting it in the flame and then filled the tube 

with appropriate amounts of high-purity Cu, In, and Se. Subsequently, we evacuated the 

tube to a powerful rotary pump and flushed it with high-purity argon under reduced 

pressure (800 mbar). The latter is known to reduce the vapor pressure of Se. Finally, we 

sealed the ingot in the tube by closing the end connected to the pump. 

3.2 Fusing of Starting Material for Liquid-Phase Deposition

Two methods were established for fusing the elemental ingots with sufficient control of 

the strongly exothermic fusing reaction. In the first method, we use inductive heating 

3
provided by a high-frequency generator. The second method is to provide the required 

heat directly with the gas torch. Compared to fusion in a tube or muffle furnace, these 

methods have the advantage that we can observe the reaction through the tube walls and 

quickly reduce the heat supply when the reaction tends to get out of control. In the 

beginning, we had the problem that the fused-material showed a very strong tendency to 

stick to the inner wall of the fused-silica tube. It seems that this problem can be overcome 

by using copper with a particularly low oxygen content and thorough cleaning of the 

inner wall tube prior to encapsulation. Nevertheless, several iterations of fusing and 

knocking off sticking parts of material from the inner walls of the fused-silica tube are 

typically necessary before a shiny and integral piece of material is obtained that can serve 

for the liquid-phase deposition experiments. 

3.3 Liquid-Phase Deposition in a Fused-Silica Tube 

Initially, we pursued the simple method of encapsulating the ingot and the substrate in a 

fused-silica tube and tilting the melt over the substrate, as illustrated in 2. For fixing the 

substrate in the fused-silica tube, we established the following simple method: By heating 

the tube in the hydrogen flame from the outside, we attached a rectangular piece of fusedsilica to the inner wall of the tube, such that the substrate plane was oriented normal to 

the wall. This setup enabled us to tilt the CuInSe2 melt over the substrate simply by 

rotating the fused-silica tube. A problem with this preliminary method was that it can 

only be applied if the mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the 

substrate material and fused silica is sufficiently small to keep the thermal stresses at the 

interface below a tolerable level. 

3.4 Furnace 

Sufficient laboratory space for the experiments was made available in the Department of 

Materials Science and Engineering at CWRU, as well as a furnace suitable for 

constructing the LPD reactor. The furnace was a three-zone horizontal tube furnace with 

a particularly large inner diameter hinges providing the capability of easily assessing the 

interior. The furnace contained a fused-silica tube with a diameter of 10 cm to give us 

sufficient flexibility for variations of the liquid-phase deposition experiments. The 

controller we used enabled us to adjust the temperature with a precision better than 1 K. 

Based on this furnace, we designed, constructed, and installed a reactor suitable for LPD 

of α-CuInSe2 thin films. 

3.5 The Sliding Boat Reactor 

Initially, we performed experiments to deposit material by to the method illustrated in 2. 

For this purpose, we encapsulated the ingot material in a fused-silica ampule together 

with a suitable planear substrate, which was fixed to the wall of the ampoule. 

Since this simple approach did not yield satisfactory results, we decided to build an 

entirely new, “sliding boat” reactor. In this reactor, the molten material resides in a 

graphite well, which is slid over the bottom side of several stationary substrates (“sliding 

4
boat”). Similar sliding boat mechanisms have been utilized with great success in liquidphase epitaxy of III–IV and IV–IV semiconductors. In order to avoid oxidation of the 

components or loss of selenium, we also had to construct a suitable air-tight chamber in 

which the sliding boat reactor could operate. Since the sliding boat reactor and the 

deposition chamber play a central role for the experimental results, the construction of 

these components is further described in the next two subsections. 

3.5.1 The Deposition Chamber 

The air-tight deposition chamber is shown in Fig. 4. Compared to our initial approach of 

encapsulating the ingot material in a fused-silica ampoule, together with a suitable 

substrate, the newly constructed deposition chamber substantially simplified the loading 

of ingot and substrates. We fitted the chamber with valves to allow pumping under 

vacuum as well as purging with high-purity argon gas. Depositions were carried out at 

pressures slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. Prior to deposition, however, the 

system was evacuated and heated to remove water and contaminants. Additionally, the 

newly constructed chamber allowed utilizing reacting gases to properly remove oxide 

contaminants from the surface of the substrates prior to the actual deposition. Hydrogen 

is often used to remove surface oxides by converting the oxides to water. The removal of 

surface contaminants, mainly oxides, activates the substrate surface and promotes wetting 

by the molten ingot. The far left of Fig. 4 shows a linear manipulator vacuum feedthrough, purchased from MDC Vacuum Products Cooperation. This manipulator 

provided a convenient way to move the reservoir over the underlying substrates. 

Figure 4: Deposition chamber of the new sliding-boat reactor 

5
For the event of overheating, which could potentially result in rupture of the furnace and 

leakage of selenium vapor, the LPD chamber was equipped with a pressure release valve. 

The gas removed from the pressure release valve would run through a cold trap to 

condense potentially dangerous selenium vapor. 

3.5.2 Sliding Boat 

The sliding boat consisted of three main parts: a track, a substrate holder, and a reservoir, 

as shown together in Fig. 5. The outer portion or track of the boat simply provided a 

channel for the reservoir to slide forth and back. The substrate holder fitted nicely in the 

bottom of the track and below the reservoir. The construction material for the sliding was 

graphite. Graphite was chosen because it is available in high purity form, it is easily 

machined, and, mostly, because metals do not wet it. 

Figure 5: Sliding boat of the new sliding-boat reactor. 

3.6 Transmission Electron Microscopy 

Since the primary tool for characterizing the phase composition, structure, and defects in 

the material we intended to fabricate was TEM (transmission electron microscopy), we 

have trained the graduate student in conventional, high-resolution, and analytical TEM, 

including electron diffraction (for phase identification). Information about the 

instruments we employed for this work is available on the internet.6 

6
We have also trained the student in the techniques of TEM specimen preparation. This 

involved ion-beam milling with Ar+

 ions as the final step. In first experiments with this 

method, segregation of In on the specimen surface were identified as a major obstacle for 

obtaining high-quality TEM specimens. However, this is a known problem, and shortly 

after we improved the specimen quality by fine-tuning the specimen preparation 

parameters based on information from the literature and photovoltaic partners. Exciting 

new opportunities for preparing high-quality cross-sectional TEM specimens were 

expected from a FIB (focused ion beam system) that was delivered to the Center for 

Surface Analysis of Materials (administered by the Department of Materials Science and 

Engineering) in May 2004. However, unforeseen technical problems delayed the 

installation of this instrument by more than one year. Still, the instrument is not fully 

functional, and TEM specimens of the kind we needed for the project reviewed here 

cannot be obtained. 

In order to obtain some first TEM specimens anyway, we continued to deposit films via 

our initial method of tilting the melt over the substrate, but with layers of exceedingly 

large thickness, generated on purpose. The residual stresses typically present in thick 

layers promotes the subsequent removal layer from the substrate, which significantly 

facilitates the preparation of TEM specimens compared to the case of a thick Cu-In–Se 

layer adherent to a substrate of a different material. 

4 Results 

4.1 Ingots for Liquid-Phase Deposition 

Ingots for LPD were prepared from all four relevant composition fields in Fig. 1. Their 

compositions are listed in Table 1. The second column indicates the nominal composition 

(as weighed), the third column the composition after fusion, as measured by XEDS (Xray energy-dispersive spectrometry) in a scanning electron microscope, and the fourth 

column the composition in the resulting LPD-thin film, again as measured by XEDS in a 

scanning electron microscope. 

Table 1: Ingots of the CuInSe2 alloys prepared and studied in Phase I

Ingot Weighed 

(at %) 

XEDS Ingot 

(at %) 

XEDS Film 

(at %) 

I1a Cu: 12.0 

In: 47.5 

Se: 40.5 

Cu: 8.7 

In: 41.4 

Se: 49.9 

Cu: 4.19 

In: 52.69 

Se: 43.12 

I1b Cu: 32.5 

In: 32.5 

Se: 35.0 

Cu: 24.76 

In: 27.10 

Se: 48.14 

I1c Cu: 46.0 Cu: 59.50 

7
In: 18.0 

Se: 36.0 

In: 15.58 

Se:24.92 

I2 Cu: 55.0 

In: 38.5 

Se: 6.5 

Cu: 16.46 

In: 41.47 

Se: 42.08 

I3 Cu 46.0 

In: 4.0 

Se: 50.0 

Cu: 45.40 

In: 2.66 

Se: 51.94 

Cu: 7.90 

In: 1.33 

Se: 90.77 

I4 Cu: 2.85 

In: 3.55 

Se: 93.6 

Cu: 4.46 

In: 2.81 

Se: 92.73 

Cu: 5.74 

In: 0.80 

Se: 93.46 

We have recorded XRD (X-ray diffraction) patterns, and have verified compositions by 

XEDS for all ingots we prepared. The results confirmed the predictions of the liquidus 

projection (Fig. 1). For example, one of the ingots had a Cu:In:Se ratio close to 1:1:1, but 

yielded layers with a Cu:In:Se ratio close to the 1:1:2 stoichiometry α-CuInSe2. This 

confirms the basic hypothesis of our project, namely that α-CuInSe2 can be (and has to 

be) precipitated from melts with compositions significantly different from 1:1:2. Not only 

does the stoichiometry of the deposited films correspond to the desired composition of αCuInSe2 – XRD patterns have also revealed the presence of chalcolpyrite structure of αCuInSe2. 

4.2 Wetting Behavior 

Initially, attempts were made to deposit α-CuInSe2 thin films onto fused silica and silicon 

substrates. However, it soon became apparent that the surface energies of these substrates 

were too low to promote their sufficient wetting by the molten ingot. Silicon can be used, 

but requires chemical or ion etching prior to the deposition of α-CuInSe2 to “activate” the 

surface for wetting and subsequent layer growth to occur. To overcome this wetting issue 

we loaded fused-silica substrates, etched with HF (hydrofluoric acid) and rinsed with 

dionized water, into a sputtering chamber and sputter-deposited a 1 μm thick layer of Mo, 

followed by a layer of 100 nm of Cu. The sputtering chamber we utilized contained three 

separate cathodes, thereby allowing us to deposit the Cu film right after the Mo 

deposition, without breaking vacuum in the chamber. The Cu layer served to passivate 

the Mo layer, i. e. prevented the formation of an oxide layer on the Mo. During liquidphase deposition onto such substrates, the Cu layer diffuses into the ingot material, 

exposing a Mo surface with a surface energy high enough to promote uniform coverage 

of the substrate by the molten ingot material. 

With the incorporation of these Cu-coated substrates, we were able to deposit films from 

all four composition fields suitable for primary precipitation of α-CuInSe2, as indicated in 

Fig. 1. 

8
4.3 Viscosity 

In order to precipitate a thin layer of α-CuInSe2 onto a substrate, the molten ingot with 

appropriate composition needs to be slowly cooled down to or just below the liquidus 

temperature indicatd by the ternary phase diagram. As expected from the usual 

exponential increase of the viscosity with decreasing temperature, we found that the 

viscosity of all ingots we tried so far rapidly increases as they are cooled down to their 

respective liquidus temperature. After deposition of a thin layer on the substrate, 

therefore, it turned out to be difficult to tilt the remaining melt off the surface of the 

deposited layer. Even when the substrates were turned upside down, the molten ingot did 

not easily release from the substrate. For this reason, the layers we have successfully 

deposited so far are quite thick: 10 to 15 μm. Owing to the brittleness of the deposited 

material and the presence of thermal stresses, a less important, but still disturbing 

consequence of the inappropriate layer thickness is that it is very difficult to prepare them 

for transmission electron microscopy, the most powerful tool for analyzing the results of 

our liquid-phase deposition experiments. 

To circumvent these problems, we decided to deviate from the original plan and construct 

a laboratory-scale “sliding-boat” reactor (Section 3.5) for depositing thinner films with 

better surface morphology. 

Figure 6: TGA plot of all the ingots made with compositions designated in Table 1. 

4.4 Thermogravimetric Analysis 

Several methods currently used for the deposition of α-CuInSe2 and CuInS2 require postdeposition annealing treatments in Se- or S-rich atmospheres to yield the desired 

chalcopyrite phase with the 1:1:2 stoichiometry. However, even when the deposited 

material has the correct stoichiometry, a chalcogenide-rich atmosphere is usually 

employed to maintain this composition. For the final construction of the sliding boat LPD 

reactor we had to determine at what pressures we need to operate in order to maintain the 

composition of the starting ingot as well as the composition of the deposited film. 

9
Therefore TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) was employed to measure the mass loss of 

various ingots as a function of temperature. 

Figure 6 is a TGA plot of all the ingots made with compositions designated in Table 1. 

The data reveal that there is no significant weight loss by vaporization of selenium from 

ingots with compositions in regions I1 (a, b, and c) and I2. Significant weight loss is 

observed only from the selenium-rich regions designated I3 and I4. Therefore, ingots with 

compositions in regions I1 and I2 should show no selenium loss during deposition and 

will not require the use of chalcogenide-rich atmospheres. 

Table 2: XEDS data of CuInSe2 films fabricated by liquid-phase deposition. 

Sample ID # Film Composition (at%) 

SBD 1 21.6 : 25.9 : 52.5 

SBD 2 22.7 : 36.1 : 41.2 

SBD 3 17.8 : 12.6 : 69.6 

SBD 4 23.9 : 29.9 : 46.1 

SBD 5 30.7 : 26.9 : 42.3 

SBD 6 6.2 : 47.1 : 46.7 

SBD 7 25.2 : 26.4 : 48.3 

SBD 8 23.6 : 29.5 : 46.9 

SBD 9 22.4 : 35.2 : 42.4 

10
4.5 Layers Deposited by the Sliding-Boat Mechanism 

The sliding-boat technique has proven to work very well for depositing CuInSe2 films 

from the melt. For all films deposited so far, the chemical composition of the starting 

ingot material was Cu33.3In33.3Se33.3. This composition lies in the largest primary phase 

field of the of the liquidus projection of the CuInSe2 ternary equilibrium phase diagram in 

which α-CuInSe2 is the first phase to precipitate from the growth solution. Table 2 lists 

the compositions of nine films we have obtained from this ingot composition. All films 

were analyzed by XEDS (X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry) in a scanning electron 

microscope (Hitachi S-3000 SEM). 

All films where deposited onto quartz substrates which where sputter coated with 1 μm of 

Mo followed by 100 nm of Cu. Therefore, since the same ingot was used for the 

deposited films, the only variable changed to produce films of varying composition was 

the thermal profile of the deposition itself. The ingots where either first undercooled to 

just below the liquidus projection and then slid over substrate or, alternatively, first slid 

over the substrate and then undercooled. For the deposition of III–V semiconductors, 

these two methods were shown to have different growth kinetics. 

Different deposition times resulted in different thicknesses of the films. For example, 

film 2 was deposited for 15 min at 650 °C and had an average thickness of 2.7 μm, 

whereas film 5 was deposited for 2 h at 655 °C and had an average thickness of 44 μm. 

(In each case, the thickness was measured by a Sloan DekTakII profilometer.) Generally, 

higher deposition temperatures and longer deposition times resulted in films with 

smoother surface morphology. 

Figure 7: Surface morphology of an LPD-deposited film, exhibiting large grains 

with diameters > 10 μm. 

11
Figure 8: XRD pattern with strongest peak from the (112) growth plane (from 

sample SBD 3). 

Figure 7 displays the surface morphology of sample SBD 2, revealing the presence of 

large grains with diameters > 10 μm. X-ray diffraction was also carried out to prove the 

existence of the chalcopyrite crystal structure as well as verify the presence of the 

preferred growth plane for CIS. The chalcopyrite crystal structure possessed by αCuInSe2 grows preferentially with facets parallel to {220}, {204}, or {112} planes. From 

Fig. 8 it is evident that the material has grown with the energetically preferred {112} 

surface. 

Owing to the high viscosity of the Cu–In–Se melt, the thicknesses of the Cu–In –Se 

layers deposited in the beginning was relatively large – on the order of 10 to 15 μm. 

Apparently, the excessive thickness and roughness of the layers we deposited with the 

first-generation apparatus arose because the frozen material was able to lift the sliding 

boat. 

To avoid this problem, we constructed a second sliding-boat apparatus. The major design 

change in this second construction are grooves that guide the sliding boat and keep it at 

constant height, such that the frozen material cannot lift it. Additionally, the new design 

offered better thermal contact between the melt and the thermocouple – different from the 

previous design, the tip of the thermocouple now resides directly beneath the substrate 

material. 

Figure 9a shows a photograph of the reactor and the furnace. The re-designed slidingboat is exposed in the enlargement of Fig. 9b. Again, the construction material we 

utilized was graphite because it is not wetted by the molten ingot material. Moreover, 

graphite possesses good thermal conductivity and is easily machinable. The red arrow in 

Fig. 9b points at the grooves guiding the sliding boat. As expected, the new construction 

enabled the deposition of thinner layers. 

12
Figure 9: (a) The deposition reactor and the furnace. (b) Larger view of the new 

sliding-boat apparatus. The arrow points at groves guiding the boat to prevent the 

solidified material from pushing it up. This construction proved to be valuable for 

limiting the layer thickness. 

Employing the new sliding-boat mechanism, we deposited several layers onto the quartz–

1 μm Mo–100 nm Cu substrates. We confirmed that the stoichiometry of the newly 

deposited layers matched the desired stoichiometry of α-CuInSe2. Moreover, XRD 

patterns revealed the dominant presence of grains with the chalcopyrite structure of αCuInSe2 with their surface parallel to {112} planes. 

4.6 Single-Crystalline Substrates 

In addition to improving the sliding boat mechanism, we have made several attempts to 

deposit α-CuInSe2 onto (111) Si single crystals. The atomistic structure of the Si (111) 

surface has hexagonal symmetry and lattice parameters very close to those of the αCuInSe2 (112) surface; the lattice mismatch is only ≈6 %. Based on this similarity, one 

would expect that α-CuInSe2 can grow epitaxially on (111) Si, i. e. as a single-crystalline 

layer with the same orientation as the substrate. Despite the similarity in structure, 

however, we have not succeeded so far in depositing α-CuInSe2 onto Si substrates. 

4.7 Grain Size 

As demonstrated by the example of Fig. 7, the grain size of the layers we have obtained 

by liquid-phase deposition is large compared to any other deposition technique. To 

further analyze the grain size, we have employed conventional transmission electron 

microscopy (TEM), and in particular dark-field imaging (Section 4.11). This has revealed 

grains sizes in the range of 10 to 30 μm in diameter. The micrograph in Fig. 10 shows 

that even much larger, macroscopic grains can form by dendritic growth. Dendrites 

usually constitute regions with the same crystallographic orientation (although there may 

be small-angle grain boundaries within the dendrite). Dendritic growth can be explained 

by the details of heat transport through the melt and through the solid at the growth front. 

Since the area depicted in this micrograph is not an area that resided directly under the 

growth solution (ingot), but is from an area adjacent to it, the image provides valuable 

13
insight into the wetting and crystallization behavior of α-CuInSe2: dendritic growth 

usually indicates constitutional supercooling. 

Figure 10: Optial micrograph of a layer made by liquid-phase deposition from the 

second-generation sliding-boat apparatus, revealing dentric growth of α-CuInSe2. 

4.8 Substrate Etching 

To grow well-adherent, uniform films of a single phase, it is imperative to keep the 

substrate free of contaminants. Therefore, we set up the ability to etch substrates by two 

separate methods. First, an etch-back can be achieved with the use of the sliding boat 

since it contains two separate reservoirs. Loading one reservoir with the substrate 

material, contact with the substrate causes atoms at the substrate surface to dissolve into 

the reservoir, thus exposing a contaminant-free surface. An obstacle to this approach is 

that it requires choosing a substrate that possesses a proper work function to form an 

ohmic contact with α-CuInSe2, and, at the same time, enables sufficiently high surface 

diffusivity at the deposition temperature. 

Our second approach involved the use of a gas mixture containing an inert gas and 

hydrogen. After evacuating the deposition chamber and backfilling with argon several 

times, almost all of the oxygen was removed from the gas phase of the chamber. 

However, oxide scales remained on the surface of the substrate material. The purpose of 

14
the hydrogen in the inert gas was to reduce the oxides, forming water vapor, which could 

then be removed by the pumps attached to the growth reactor. 

Figure 11: Current–voltage curve of an LPD-grown film, revealing rectifying 

behavior

4.9 Electrical Behavior 

Sample SBD 4 proved to be one of the best samples grown thus far, with fairly uniform 

thickness of 55 μm and a bulk composition very close to α-CuInSe2. Therefore, we used 

this material for electrical testing by preparing a Shockley diode from it. The diode was 

made by evaporating aluminum contacts directly to the surface if the CIS film. Figure 11

is a graph displaying a current–voltage curve of the first diode made from this project. 

In addition to improving the methodology of liquid-phase deposition, we made attempts 

to fabricate a working solar cell. For this purpose, CdS layers were deposited onto the 

liquid-phase-deposited CIS layers by chemical bath deposition. Subsequently, we 

deposited ZnO layers by radio-frequency sputtering. Thus far, unfortunately, the resulting 

devices have failed. Apparently, the problem is that the volume of the deposited layers is 

so large compared to the melt reservoir that secondary, metallic phases form in the upper 

layers of the deposit. If this hypothesis is correct, it should be possible to eliminate the 

problem by implementing larger reservoirs for the liquid phase. This will minimize the 

compositional change of the melt during the deposition process and ensure that the 

composition remains inside the phase field in which α-CuInSe2 is the primary solidifying 

phase. 

4.10 Differential Thermal Analysis 

For adjusting a sufficiently small supercooling during LPD of α-CuInSe2 layers, as it is 

required for fabricating material with a low concentration of structural defects, it is 

important to know the precise liquidus temperature for the respective composition of the 

ingot. While the liquidus projection in (Fig. 1) indicates the liquidus temperature for 

every relevant composition, experimental verification is important to interpolate between 

15
the isothermes and to accommodate deviations between the nominal and the actual 

composition. 

A suitable method for determining the liquidus temperature is DTA (differential thermal 

analysis). Although a DTA apparatus was available at Case Western Reserve University, 

it was not suitable for the relatively high liquidus temperatures of up to 1073 K we 

needed to include in order to explore all four composition fields of Fig. 1. Moreover, we 

had special constraints concerning the specimen morphology arising from the need to 

keep the material encapsulated in a fused-silica tube. A suitable apparatus was eventually 

located at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in the laboratory of 

Dr. A. Sayir, who kindly made this instument available to us. 

Utilizing the DTA apparatus at the NASA Glenn Research Center, we determined the 

liquidus temperature of a suite of ingots by measuring the onset and outset temperatures 

of the first-order phase transformation of melting on the DTA plot; the liquidus 

temperature corresponds to the outset temperature during heating. 

As an example, Fig. 12 shows the DTA plot for the ingot I1b of Table 1. The 

experimental liquidus temperature of 667 °C agrees well with the liquidus projection of 

Fig. 1. The small discrepancy originates from the fact that the composition lies slightly 

off the 700 °C isotherme. 

Figure 12: DTA (differential thermal analysis) of alloy I1b in Table 1. 

While the information obtained by external DTA proved to be valuable, we found that 

trying to reproduce the measured liquidus temperature in our apparatus often resulted in 

multiphase films instead of the desired single-phase α-CuInSe2 material. Apparently, 

there were discrepancies between the nominal and the actual temperature of the melt in 

our system. 

16
To circumnavigate these issues, we added the capability to conduct in situ DTA in the 

sliding boat reactor. For this purpose, we had to modify the sliding boat somewhat. 

Another, more significant modification required to realize in situ DTA was that the ingot 

had to remain stationary, forcing us to alter the construction such that from then on the 

required movement between the melt and the substrate was realized by making the 

substrate slide back and forth underneath the deposition solution. 

In the modified version of the system, two thermocouples – fed through the reactor – 

were located in the sliding boat mechanism. One of these was in contact with the ingot, 

while the other one served as a reference. Figure 13 displays the modified sliding boat 

mechanism with two thermocouples and the linkage for the linear motion manipulation of 

the underlying substrates. 

Figure 13: Modified sliding boat mechanism with two thermocouples and the 

linkage for the linear motion manipulation of the underlying substrates. 

Figure 14: The entire system (LPD reactor and DTA) in its final version at the end 

of the project. 

17
Figure 15: DTA of pure indium 

The DTA was run by Labview software from a Windows XP platform. The data 

acquisition is achieved by a NI USB 9211 4 channel, 24 bit data acquisition card. The 

entire system (LPD reactor and DTA) can be seen in Figure 14. All reactor modifications 

and Labview programming where down in house. To test the new capability to perform 

in situ DTA analysis, pure indium was analyzed. Figure 15 shows the results from an 

initial measurement of indium. Upon heating, the acquired endothermal peak is found 

over ten degrees higher than the actual melting point of pure indium (Tm = 156.6 °C) due 

to the relatively high heating rate. Upon cooling, however, the corresponding exothermal 

peak is in excellent agreement with Tm, and this peak is the more relevant one for liquidphase deposition of α-CuInSe2. Initial attempts to use the in situ DTA for the deposition 

of α-CuInSe2, however, failed because the thermocouple material underwent a chemical 

reaction with the growth solution. Presently, measures are being taken to circumvent this 

problem and provide the capability of in situ DTA for the deposition of α-CuInSe2. 

4.11 Transmission Electron Microscopy 

4.11.1 Grain Size 

TEM (transmission electron microscopy) confirmed that LPD is capable of producing 

CIS layers with very large grains, i. e. a very low density of grain boundaries. 

Figure 16 presents bright-field and dark-field TEM images of deposited films containing 

α-CuInSe2. In both images, regions of constant crystal orientations show up with the 

same gray level (dark in the bright-field image and bright in the dark-field image). 

Clearly, the film contains grains with a diameter exceeding several micrometers. 

Demonstrating this capability of liquid-phase deposition to provide films with a very 

large grain size constituted an important mile stone of our project. SAED (selected-area 

electron diffraction) patterns where obtained from the grain in Fig. 16 in , , and 

directions. The patterns display only one set of spots, confirming the existence of only 

one grain within the region of interest, and match simulated SAED patterns we have 

18
obtained with the help of the JAVA Electron Microscopy Simulation software package 

“JEMS” (P. Stadelmann, EPFL, Lausanne) to within only 1 % deviation, both 

azimuthally and radially. 

Figure 16: Bright field image on left (dark field on right) revealing course grain of 

deposited α-CuInSe2. 

Figure 17: CBED patterns recorded in <110>, <110>, and <112> direction. 

We need to point out, however, that these diffraction patterns alone are not sufficient to 

conclusively prove the existence of α-CuInSe2. This is due to the fact that many phases of 

CuInSe2, and in particular those that were identified in the compositional neighborhood 

of α-CuInSe2, also possess tetragonal crystal lattices with lattice parameters very close to 

those of α-CuInSe2. This circumstance makes it difficult to determine the phase of the 

deposited material by X-ray or conventional electron diffraction alone. 

On the hand, simulated CBED (convergent beam electron diffraction) patterns of the 

phases in question should reveal distinct differences in the fine detail consisting of HOLZ 

(higher-order Laue zone) lines, thus enabling us to discern α-CuInSe2 from undesired 

phases. Initial CBED patterns we obtained from the grain in Fig. 16 are shown in Fig. 17. 

However, these patterns merely exhibit Bragg fringes, not the required HOLZ lines. 

Accordingly, the quality of the TEM specimen as well as the CBED technique need 

further improvement. 

Since we could not observe HOLZ lines yet, we determined the composition of the films 

from which the TEM specimen of Figs. 16 and 17 were prepared by XEDS (X-ray energy 

dispersive spectroscopy) in a scanning electron microscope. These measurements 

19
indicated a Cu:In:Se ratio of 24:30:46. Along with the SAED patterns, this is strong 

evidence – although not a proof – for the existence of α-CuInSe2. 

5 Team Activities 

The group at CWRU has actively participated in the National CIS Team Meetings with 

presentations about the project reported here and for a workshop on 

microcharacterization of CuInSe2 thin films. 

6 Conclusion 

The work we were able to carry out constitutes a best effort under the financial and 

temporal constraints of this project. Partly because of these constraints and partly because 

of unforeseen obstacles, not all goals formulated in our proposal could be realized. 

However, we believe that our results demonstrate that liquid-phase deposition can be 

developed into a viable method for fabricating single-phase CIS (alpha-Cu–In–Se) films 

with a low density of structural defects and a correspondingly high performance in 

photovoltaic applications. 

The results of our work demonstrate that the proposed technique is indeed capable of 

producing films with a particularly large grain size and a correspondingly low density of 

grain boundaries. In order to obtain films sufficiently thin for solar cell applications and 

with a sufficiently smooth surface, it is advantageous to employ a sliding boat 

mechanism. 

Potential problems, as determined by our work, may arise from insufficient substrate 

wetting, melt viscosity, and insufficiently accurate determination of the liquidus (onset of 

solidification) temperature. In the course of the project, we have learned to deal with all 

three issues. 

Future work on liquid-phase deposition of CIS should focus on the interaction between 

the melt and the substrate surface, the resulting CIS interfaces, the surface morphology of 

the LPD-grown films, and of course the electronic properties of the material. 

From our interaction with members of the thin-film photovoltaics team (organized by 

NREL) and inter actions we had with potential industrial partners, we conclude that 

further developing this new method is scientifically and technologically rewarding. 

Acknowledgment 

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support we received from the National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory. We would also like to thank the project monitors, 

particularly Dr. B. von Roedern, for their continued interest in this project, and 

Dr. A. Sayir and Ms. A. Palcer for DTA measurements. 

20
References 

[1] T. Gödecke, T. Haalboom, and F. Ernst. Phase equilibria of Cu-In-Se. I. Stable 

states and non-equilibrium states of the In2Se3–Cu2Se subsystem. Zeitschrift für 

Metallkunde, 91:622–634, 2000. 

[2] T. Gödecke, T. Haalboom, and F. Ernst. Phase equilibria of Cu-In-Se. II. The Cu–

Cu2Se–In2Se3–In subsystem. Zeitschrift für Metallkunde, 91:635–650, 2000. 

[3] T. Gödecke, T. Haalboom, and F. Ernst. Phase equilibria of Cu-In-Se. III. The 

In2Se3–Se–Cu2Se subsystem. Zeitschrift für Metallkunde, 91:651–662, 2000. 

[4] J. Cowen, L. Lucas, F. Ernst, P. Pirouz, A. Hepp, and S. Bailey. Liquid-phase 

deposition of single-phase alpha-copper-indium-diselenide. Materials Science and 

Engineering B, 116: 311–319, 2005. 

[5] C. Persson and A. Zunger. Anomalous grain boundary physics in polycrystalline 

CuInSe2: The existence of a hole barrier. Physical Review Letters, 91(26):266401–

266404, 2003. 

[6] F. Ernst, 2004. URL: http://dmseg5.case.edu/groups/Ernst/csam.html. 

21
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1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)

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February 2003 – July 2005 

5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

DE-AC36-99-GO10337 

5b. GRANT NUMBER

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Liquid-Phase Deposition of CIS Thin Layers: Final Report, 

February 2003 – July 2005 

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

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NREL/SR-520-39341 

5e. TASK NUMBER

PVB65101 

6. AUTHOR(S)

 F. Ernst and P. Pirouz 

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 Case Western University 

 Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering 

 Cleveland, OH 44106 

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13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

NREL Technical Monitor: Bolko von Roedern 

14. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 Words)

The goal of this project was to fabricate single-phase CIS (α-Cu–In–Se, stoichiometric composition: CuInSe2) thin 

films for photovoltaic applications from a liquid phase – a Cu–In–Se melt of appropriate composition. This approach 

of “liquid-phase deposition” (LPD) is based on the new phase diagram we have established for Cu–In–Se, the first 

complete equilibrium phase diagram of this system. The liquidus projection exhibits four composition fields in which 

the primary solid phase, i.e., the first solid material that forms on cooling down from an entirely liquid state, is αCuInSe2. Remarkably, none of the four composition fields is anywhere near the stoichiometric composition (CuInSe2) 

of α-CuInSe2. The results demonstrate that the proposed technique is indeed capable of producing films with a 

particularly large grain size and a correspondingly low density of grain boundaries. To obtain films sufficiently thin for 

solar cell applications and with a sufficiently smooth surface, it is advantageous to employ a sliding boat mechanism. 

Future work on liquid-phase deposition of CIS should focus on the interaction between the melt and the substrate 

surface, the resulting CIS interfaces, the surface morphology of the LPD-grown films, and, of course, the electronic 

properties of the material. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

PV; liquid-phase deposition; thin film; electronic properties; grain size; copper indium diselenide (CIS); grain 

boundary; sliding-boat reactor; 

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