Patent Publication Number: US-2013230933-A1

Title: Methods for fabricating thin film solar cells

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/554,440, filed on Sep. 4, 2009, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/094,890, filed on Sep. 6, 2008. The present application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/719,183, filed on Dec. 18, 2012, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/849,643, filed on Mar. 25, 2013, the contents of all above applications are incorporated by reference herein to their entireties for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to solar cell manufacture for convert sun energy to electricity. 
     Solar cells convert energy from the sun to electricity. It is a renewable energy source that does not contribute to the greenhouse. The most commonly known solar cell is configured as large area of p-n junction formed between n-type and p-type semiconductors. The p-n junction creates a voltage bias. Sunlight comes in many colors comprising of low-energy infrared photons, high-energy ultraviolet, and all of the visible light between. A photon with high enough energy absorbed by an atom can lift an electron to a more excited state and an electron-hole pair is created. If the electron-hole pair is generated within or near this field, it sweeps the electrons toward the n-side and the holes to the p-side. When the sides are connected to an external circuit, a current will flow from the p-side through a possible load to the n-side. 
     The solar cells are traditionally fabricated using silicon (Si) as a light absorbing which uses wafers of single-crystal or polycrystal silicon with a thickness range of 180-330 μm. The wafer goes through several process steps and then be integrated into a module. The solar cell using silicon is expensive due to the high material and process cost. In order to achieve lower cost and improved manufacturability at large scale, thin film technologies have been developed in the last three decades. The main advantage of the thin film solar cell technologies is that they have lower costs than the silicon solar cell. They are typically 100 times thinner than silicon wafer with around 1-3 μm thickness of the absorbing layer deposited on relative low cost substrates such as glass, metal foils, and plastics. They could be continuously deposited over large areas at lower temperatures. They can tolerate higher impurities of the raw materials. They can be easily integrated into a monolithic interconnected module. For a reference, the semiconductor thin film thickness of the absorbing layer in a thin film solar cell is around 10 times thinner than a human hair. The thin film solar cell typically consist of 5 to 10 different layers whose functions include reducing resistance, forming the p-n junction, reduce reflection losses, and providing a robust layer for contacting and interconnection between cells. 
     One of the thin film solar cell technologies is copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) which is a most cost effective power generation technology. This is due to the fact that the high efficiency of CIGS solar cells has been achieved with around 1-3 μm thin absorbing layer of the Cu(InGa)Se 2 . Another advantage is that the CIGS solar cells and module have shown excellent long-term stability in the outdoor field. Additionally, CIGS solar cells show high radiation resistance comparing to crystalline silicon solar cell. 
     The CIGS solar cell is constructed with Cu(InGa)Se 2 /CdS junction in a substrate configuration with a metal such as molybdenum back contact. After forming Cu(InGa)Se 2  absorbing layer on a molybdenum coated substrate and then depositing a n-type CdS layer over the CIGS layer, a junction is formed between Cu(InGa)Se 2  and CdS layers. A transparent ZnO layer is then deposited on the CdS layer and then deposit a front contact layer. 
     The ratio of the gallium vs. copper and indium is critical for solar cell efficiency. Hamda A. Al-Thani, et. al. (reference #1) reported CIGS thin film solar cells efficiency versus the chemical compositions. The CIGS films were subsequently deposited on the Mo films using different sputtering pressure conditions or fixed physical vapor deposition rates for Cu, Ga, In, and Se. The solar cell efficiency was reported between 12.35% and 15.99%. The copper composition is varied from 23.76 at % to 24.84 at %, indium composition is varied from 17.01 at % to 18.11 at %, gallium composition is varied from 6.38 at % to 7.72 at%, and selenium composition is varied from 50.44 at % to 53.26 at %. It was also reported that the atomic ratio of Ga/(In+Ga) is varied between 0.261 and 0.312. 
     A wide variety of thin film deposition methods has been used to make Cu(InGa)Se 2  semiconductor layer including vacuum co-evaporation, vacuum sputtering, and electroplating. 
     Co-evaporation of Cu, In, Ga, and Se from separate targets is one of the widely approaches. One of the methods is co-evaporation of elemental In, Ga and Se on the substrates of Mo-coated substrate followed by co-evaporation of elemental Cu and Se. Another method is vacuum depositing Cu—Ga alloy on metallized substrate followed by vacuum depositing indium to obtain Cu—Ga/In stacks. The stack of the Cu—Ga/In is then selenized at selenium atmosphere to form Cu(InGa)Se 2  semiconductor thin film. Another method is two stage co-evaporation processes. The first step involves the deposition of sequentially copper and Gallium and co-deposition of indium and selenium. This is followed by the second stage where the substrate is annealed in the presence of Selenium and a thin layer of copper is deposited to neutralize the excess Indium and Gallium on the surface to form the CIGS absorber layer. The main issue of the vacuum deposition processes is high equipment cost and low material utilization. 
     Another technique for growing Cu(InGa)Se 2  semiconductor thin film is electrochemical deposition. In 1983, Bhattacharya (Ref #2, J. Electrochem. Soc, 130, p2040, 1983) demonstrated in the first time that copper-indium-gallium-selenium could be prepared by electrodeposition process. Since then, several researches (References 3-7) have been reported. These researches focused on the co-electrodeposition process. 
     Three US patents (U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,630; U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,852; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,054) by Raghu N. Bhattacharya describe a two steps process for co-electrodeposition of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide film to make solar cell. In the first step, a precursor film of CuInGaSe is electrodeposited on a substrate such as glass coated with molybdenum. The chemical solution used for the CIGS film deposition contains copper, indium, gallium, and selenium so that the Copper-indium-gallium-selenium was co-electrodeposited. The second step is physical vapor deposition of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium to adjust the final composition. The disadvantage of the co-electrodeposition method is that it&#39;s hard to control the composition or atomic ratio of the four elements. Therefore the co-electrodeposition method is hard to be used for volume manufacturing. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,108 disclosed a process for electrodeposition of copper and indium film followed by selenizing it. A copper layer is electrodeposited on a metallized substrate followed by electro-deposition of indium layer to form a stacked copper-indium layer. The stacked layer is then heated up in selenium atmosphere to form copper-indium-selenium film. This is called the CIS thin film solar cell. 
     In all of the above deposition methods, the molybdenum (Mo) has been used as a back contact material for CIGS solar cells. Key beneficial features of Mo is that it has high electrical conductivity, low contact resisting to CIGS, and high temperature stability in the presence of selenium during CIGS absorber deposition. However, Mo has an adhesion issue to CIGS layer. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides method for fabricating CIGS solar cells using a roll-to-roll system comprising of 1) depositing a back contact electrode, 2) sequentially electroplating a stack comprising of at least one layer of copper, at least one layer of indium, at least one layer of gallium alloy, and at least one layer of selenium alloy, 3) measure and control the thickness of each stack layers, 4) annealing the electroplated stack at a high temperature to form a p-type semiconductor thin film comprising of copper, indium, gallium, selenium, and sulphur elements, 5) depositing a n-type semiconductor layer on the p-type semiconductor layer to form p-n junction, 6) depositing front window layers on the n-type semiconductor layer, and 7) form front electrodes. 
     One aspect of the present invention provides a method to sequentially electrodeposit a stack comprising of copper, indium, Ga—Se alloy, and Se-alloy followed by selenization at a temperature between 400 ° C. and 700 ° C. to form Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  semiconductor thin films. 
     In another aspect, the present invention provides method and process for electroplating gallium-selenium (Ga—Se) alloy. 
     In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method to electrodeposit Se-alloy. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to monitor and control the thickness of the electroplated stack on a roll-to-roll moving substrate. 
     In alternative specific embodiment, the present invention provides a method for fabricating a thin-film solar cell. The method includes rolling a flexible substrate out of a roll to move linearly with a speed. The flexible substrate is prepared with a metalized surface. The method further includes forming a back-electrode film overlying the metalized surface moving with the speed. Additionally, the method includes forming a stack of films comprising at least a Cu-bearing film, a Ga-bearing film, and an In-bearing film in any combination of orders. The stack of films is formed overlying the back-electrode film. The method further includes forming a Se-alloy layer overlying the stack of films and depositing a Se—Na bearing film overlying the Se-alloy layer from a vacuum evaporator having at least two sources. Furthermore, the method includes performing a thickness measurement in real time for the back-electrode film, the stack of films, and the Se-alloy layer on the flexible substrate moving with the speed. At least the Se-alloy layer is controlled to a thickness within 10-100 nm for a corresponding thickness of the Se—Na film ranging from 1 to 3 microns based on the thickness measurement in real time. 
     Many benefits can be achieved by applying the embodiments of the present invention. These and other benefits may be described throughout the present specification and more particularly below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1   a  shows a side view of a roll-to-roll manufacturing system comprising a copper electroplating unit, an indium electroplating unit, a second copper electroplating unit, a Ga—Se alloy electroplating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   b  shows a side view of the roll-to-roll manufacturing system of  Fig. 1   a  further comprising a drying unit, a thickness measurement unit, a parameters control unit, a selenization unit, and a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS deposition unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1   c  shows a side view of the roll-to-roll manufacturing system of  FIG. 1   a  further comprising a vacuum deposition unit, a thickness measurement unit, a parameters control unit, a selenization unit, and a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS deposition unit according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 2-1 ,  2 - 2 ,  2 - 3 ,  2 - 4 ,  2 - 5 ,  2 - 6 , and  2 - 7  show cross sectional views of processing stack of films for forming CIGS solar cells according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2-2   a  shows a cross sectional view of alternative stack of films for forming CIGS according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3   a  and  FIG. 3   b  show thin film thickness measurement using a non-travelable XRF for a roll-to-roll fabrication line according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4   a  and  FIG. 4   b  show thin film thickness measurement using a travelable XRF for a roll-to-roll fabrication line according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  shows a thin film thickness measurement using travelable multiple XRFs for a roll-to-roll fabrication line according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to solar cells fabrication. In particular, the present invention relates to fabricate copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) solar cells. According to embodiments of the present invention, a semiconductor thin film for CIGS solar cells which could convert sunlight to electricity may be fabricated by electroplating followed by selenization. The semiconductor thin film may be fabricated by sequentially electroplating a stack comprising of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium elements or their alloys followed by selenization at a temperature between 400° C. and 700° C. to form Cu(InGa)Se 2  and/or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  semiconductor thin films. 
     Based on the present invention, copper, indium, gallium alloy, and selenium alloys may be sequentially electrodeposited as a stack on a metallized substrate. The metalized substrate is a substrate with a metal layer or metals layers of the back contact electrode. The substrates may be one of the materials selected from the group comprising of soda lime glass, aluminum foil, stainless steel foil, titanium foil, molybdenum foil, steel strip, polyimide film, PET film, Teflon film, PEN film, brass, and polyester. For metal substrates, a dielectric material such as SiO 2 , Si 3 N 4 , and Al 2 O 3  may be optionally coated on the surface before depositing a metallized back contact electrode. The metal layer or metals layers of the back contact electrode on the substrate may be one of the materials selected from the group consisting of Ti—Cu, Cr—Cu, W—Cu, Mo—Cu, Mo, W, Ti—W, Ti/Pd, Ti/Pt, Mo/Cu,Cr/Pd, Ti/Ag, Ti/Cu, Cr/Cu, and Ti/Au. The Ti-Cu is an alloy that comprises titanium element and copper element. The Cr-Cu is an alloy comprises chromium element and copper element. The W—Cu is an alloy that comprises tungsten element and copper element. The Mo—Cu is an alloy that comprises molybdenum element and copper element. The Ti—W is an alloy that is comprises titanium element and tungsten element. The Mo/Cu is a stack of molybdenum and copper elements. The Ti/Pd is a stack of titanium element and palladium element. The Ti/Pt is a stack of titanium element and platinum element. The 
     Cr/Pd is a stack of chromium element and palladium element. The Ti/Cu is a stack of titanium element and copper element. The Cr/Cu is a stack of chromium element and copper element. The Ti/Ag is a stack of titanium element and silver element. The Ti/Au is a stack of titanium element and gold element. 
     The sequentially electroplated stack comprises at least one layer of copper, at least one layer of indium, at least one layer of gallium alloy, and at least one layer of selenium alloy. The alloy described above is a material that comprises two or more elements. For example, Ga—Se is an alloy that comprises gallium and selenium elements, Se—Cu is an alloy comprises selenium and copper elements, and Ga—Se—Cu is an alloy that comprises gallium, selenium, and copper elements. 
       FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  show a side view of one of the embodiments for fabricating a p-type semiconductor thin film Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  on a moving metallized substrate and a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS on the p-type semiconductor thin film Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  using a roll-to-roll process. The roll-to-roll fabrication process shown in FIGS. la and lb comprises units for sequentially electroplating a stack of Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy on a moving metallized substrate, an in line thickness measurement system, a electroplating parameters controlling system, a selenization system, and a CdS deposition system. The section  100  shown in  FIG. 1   a  is an electroplating parameters controlling system. The section  110  in  FIG. 1   a  is a roll of the metallized substrate before electroplating. Its cross sectional view is shown in  FIG. 2-1  wherein  201  is a substrate,  202  is a back contact electrode, and  203  is a seed layer of copper. The section  120 A is the first copper electroplating unit. The section  130  shown in  FIG. 1   a  is an indium electroplating unit. The section  120 B shown in  FIG. 1   a  is the second copper electroplating unit. The section  140  shown in  FIG. 1   a  is a Ga—Se alloy electroplating unit. The Ga—Se alloy may be electroplated in a solution that contains gallium ions, selenium ions, and a complexing agent or agents. The section  150  shown in  FIG. 1   a  is a Se-alloy electroplating unit. The Se-alloy is a material that comprises selenium element and a metal element or metals elements or electric conductor particles. The Se-alloy may be electroplated in a solution comprising of selenium ions, metal ions or metals ions or electric conductor particles, and a complexing agent or agents. The section  160  shown in  FIG. 1   b  is a system for measuring the thickness of each layer of the sequentially electroplated stack. The section  170  shown in  FIG. 1   b  is a selenization unit to form a Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  semiconductor thin film. The section  180  shown in  FIG. 1   b  is a system for chemically depositing a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS on the p-type semiconductor thin film Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2 . The section  190  shown in  FIG. 1   a  is a roll of the metallized substrate with the p-type semiconductor thin film Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  and a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS. 
     By using the process shown in  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b,  a p-type semiconductor thin film Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  may be fabricated on a roll-to-roll moving metallized substrate followed by fabricating a n-type semiconductor thin film on the p-type semiconductor thin film. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the roll-to-roll fabrication process can be performed in a modified system containing a series of electroplating units illustrated in  FIG. 1   a  and an additional vacuum evaporation unit followed by a measurement unit, a thermal treatment unit, and a couple of deposition units illustrated in  FIG. 1   c.  Specifically, the modified system as shown in  FIG. 1   a  is used to a back-electrode film, a stack of films including at least Cu, Ga, and In materials, on a flexible substrate with a metalized surface rolled out of a roll (section  110 ) and moving linearly with a speed, substantially the same as a previous embodiment described above. Additionally in specific embodiment, the modified system uses an electroplating unit in section  150  to form a Se-alloy layer with its thickness being controlled in a range of 10 nm to 100 nm overlying the stack of films formed earlier. This Se-alloy layer has a substantially reduced thickness compared to previous embodiment achieved by changing the concentration of the corresponding aqueous solution and/or the bias voltage across correspond anode and cathode in the aqueous solution held in the electroplating unit of section  150 . The Se-alloy must be the last one layer to cap the stack of films to substantially prevent oxidation of the corresponding films. 
     After the formation of the thin Se-alloy layer, the flexible substrate  116  is further moved with the same speed into a vacuum deposition unit in section  160 C. In an embodiment, the vacuum evaporation unit  169  includes a pump line  166  to create a desired vacuum environment and a gas line  165  with an inlet and an outlet to provide a working gas with a desired pressure in the unit. In an implementation, one or more inert gas like nitrogen or argon gas is filled through the gas line  165  to reach the desired pressure. In the vacuum evaporation unit  169 , two sources can be installed though maybe only one is used while another is shut down. The source material may be held in an electrically heated crucible. Alternatively, an e-beam may be applied for heating the source material to cause vacuum evaporation. A first source  167  is made from a sodium-bearing material, such as a sodium salt NaF. A second source  168  is made from a selenium-bearing material. In an embodiment, the second source  168  is a pure Se material made from sintered selenium power or a selenium ingot. In another embodiment, the second source  168  is made by selenium mixed with 0.01-2 wt % of sulfur. In yet another embodiment, the second source  168  is made by selenium mixed with 0.01-1 wt % of sulfur and 0.01-1 wt % of NaF. As a result of the sputtering deposition carried out in the vacuum deposition unit of section  160 C, a Se—Na or Se—S—Na film is formed overlying the previously formed Se-alloy layer. Of course, there are some variations and modifications. For example, the first target  167  may be removed to allow a pure selenium film or a Se—S film to form overlying the previously formed Se-alloy layer. In one or more embodiments, the Se, or Se—Na, or Se—S, or Se—S—Na film deposited in the vacuum unit in section  160 C has a preferred thickness of 1-3 μm though other thickness range is possible. 
     After the vacuum deposition process, the flexible substrate  117  is further moving to thickness measurement unit in section  160 B for measuring film thicknesses in real time. The thickness measurement unit is functioned substantially the same as described in  FIG. 1   b.  All films including the back-electrode film, films in the stack films containing Cu, Ga, and In, thin Se-alloy layer, as well as the Se—Na film can be measured instantly using one or more XRF devices  167  that travel with a substantially same speed as the moving flexible substrate  117 . The thickness measurement data are collected by the controller  100  (see  FIG. 1   a ) which generates corresponding feedback signals to respective electroplating units in section  120 A,  130 ,  120 B,  140 , and  150  for making adjustment of several process parameters including substrate moving speed, electrical bias voltages across an anode immersed in corresponding aqueous solutions and the metalized surface (as a cathode) of the flexible substrate, concentrations of the corresponding aqueous solutions through an external supply of the aqueous solutions with predetermined concentrations, pH values, and temperatures. In a specific embodiment, the thin Se-alloy layer is controlled to have a thickness within 10 to 100 nm, performed in a last electroplating unit in section  150 . Of course, there can be many variations, alternatives, and modifications. For example, the aqueous solution for electroplating a thin Se-alloy layer is controlled to have a temperature within a range from 10° C. to 50° C. 
     The first step of the fabrication is to electroplate a stack such as Cu/In/Cu//Ga—Se/Se-alloy on a metallized substrate as shown in  FIG. 1   a  from the section  110  to section  150 . It should be understood that the  FIG. 1   a  just shows one of the embodiments. The different stack may be electroplated by changing the order of the copper, indium, Ga—Se, and Se-alloy electroplating baths or adding an electroplating bath or baths to the system. For example, by removing or skipping the second copper electroplating bath  120 B, the sequentially electroplated stack will be Cu/In/Ga—Se/Se-alloy. By changing the order of the indium electroplating unit  130  and Ga—Se electroplating unit  140 , the sequentially electroplated stack will be Cu/Ga—Se/Cu/In/Se-alloy, et al. By changing the order of the electroplating bath or adding electroplating bath or baths in the fabrication line, the following stacks may be electroplated: Cu/In/Cu//Ga—Se/Se-alloy, Cu/In/Ga—Se/Se-alloy, Cu/Ga—Se/In/Se-alloy, Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy, Cu/Se-alloy/In/Ga—Se, Cu/Se-alloy/Ga—Se/In, In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy, In/Ga—Se/Cu/Se-alloy, In/Se-alloy/Cu/Ga—Se, In/Se-alloy/Ga—Se/Cu, Ga—Se/Cu/In/Se-alloy, Ga—Se/In/Cu/Se-alloy, Ga—Se/Se-alloy/Cu/In, Ga—Se/Se-alloy/In/Cu, Se-alloy/Cu/In/Ga—Se, Se-alloy/In/Cu/Ga—Se, Se-alloy/Ga—Se/In/Cu, Se-alloy/In/Ga—Se/Cu. 
     By adding copper ions to the Ga-Se electroplating bath, the Ga—Se—Cu alloy may be electroplated. It should be pointed out that the gallium melting point is 28.9° C. and it could be further reduced as low as 15.3° C. by forming alloy with indium. Therefore, the material may become liquid when electroplating pure gallium on indium or electroplating indium on pure gallium if the environment temperature is over 15.3° C. The melting of the electroplated gallium/indium can cause uniformity issue or forming bumps. In order to avoid this problem, one approach is to control the environment temperature including the plating baths below 15.3° C. But this approach has a limitation for the operation. For example, it costs energy to control the environment temperature below 15.3° C. The present invention provides a method that is to add small amount of copper ions and selenium ions to the gallium electroplating bath so that the Ga—Cu—Se alloy is electrodeposited. By adding 1% of the copper to the gallium, the melting point could be increased from 28.9° C. to around 100° C. This will not only make the manufacturing process easy control but also improve the inter-diffusion between the elements within a stack in the thermal annealing. The present invention provides a method to electroplate Ga-Se-Cu alloy in an aqueous solution comprising of gallium ions, selenium ions, copper ions, and a complexing agent or agents. By using a Ga-Se-Cu alloy electroplating bath instead of a Ga-Se electroplating bath, the following stacks may be electroplated: Cu/In/Cul/Ga—Se—Cu/Se-alloy, Cu/In/Ga—Se—Cu/Se-alloy, Cu/Ga—Se—Cu/In/Se-alloy, Cu/Se-alloy/In/Ga—Se—Cu, Cu/Se-alloy/Ga—Se—Cu/In, In/Cu/Ga—Se—Cu/Se-alloy, In/Ga—Se—Cu/Cu/Se-alloy, In/Se-alloy/Cu/Ga—Se—Cu, In/Se-alloy/ Ga—Se—Cu/Cu, Ga—Se—Cu/In/Cu/Se-alloy, Ga—Se—Cu/Cu/In/Se-alloy, Ga—Se—Cu/Se-alloy/In/Cu, Ga—Se—Cu/Se-alloy/Cu/In, Se-alloy/In/Ga—Se—Cu/Cu, Se-alloy/Ga—Se—Cu/In/Cu, Se-alloy/Cu/In/Ga—Se—Cu, Se-alloy/Cu/Ga—Se—Cu/In. 
     Referring now to section  160  shown in  FIG. 1   b,  a thin film thickness measurement system consists of  160 A and  160 B. The  160 A is a drying and temporary storage unit. The  160 B is a XRF measurement unit used for in-line measurement of each layer of the electroplated stack. In order to accurately measure the thickness of each layer of the sequentially electroplated stack using XRF technique, the surface of the stack must be drying without water because the water layer on the surface can affect the accuracy of the measurement. It should be understood that the XRF takes minutes to measure the stack such as Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy. Therefore, if the XRF is located a fixed position to measure the stack on a moving substrate in roll-to-roll fabrication line, the data measured is an average result. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the XRF measurement starts at position  302  as shown in  FIG. 3   a  and ends at position  303  as shown in  FIG. 3   b , the measured result is an average thickness between the position  302  and position  303 . The distance between the position  302  and position  303  is related to the substrate moving speed and the time of the XRF measurement. 
     In order to control the electroplating parameters, an accurately thickness measurement in a position or positions is needed. The present invention provides a method to accurately measure the thickness of each layer of the sequentially electroplated stack. 
     The present invention provides a method to use a travelable XRF or travelable XRFs to measure the thickness of each layer of the sequential electroplated stack at one position or multiple positions. The XRFs means multiple XRF. It should be understood that after the electroplating, there is a water layer on the surface of the electroplated stack. The water layer affects the XRF measurement accuracy and should be removed. The section  160 A has a heating set-up  162 , a gas  164  such as nitrogen or argon gas, and a roller  163 . When the substrate with the electroplated stack is moved through the section  160 A, the water is removed by turning on the heaters and flowing in gas. The roller  163  can be moved up or down to storage or release the flexible substrate with the electroplated stack. After drying, the electroplated stack is then moved to section  160 B where the thickness of each layer of the stack is measured by using travelable XRF or XRFs. 
       FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  show the thickness measurement in the position  402  using a travelable XRF. The XRF starts the measurement at the position  402  as shown in  FIG. 4   a  and ends at same position as shown in  FIG. 4   b  because the XRF moves at same speed as substrate with the electroplated stack in the same direction during the measurement so that it always focuses on the position  402 . The thickness of each layer of the stack such as Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy is measured from the position  402 . It should be understood that the XRF measures the top layer Se-alloy of the stack Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se-alloy first, and then continue to penetrate the Se-alloy layer to measure the Ga—Se layer which is under the Se-alloy layer, and then continue to measure the copper layer which is under the Ga—Se layer, and then continue to measure the indium layer which is under the copper layer, and finally measure the copper layer which is under the In layer. After the measurement, the XRF is moved back to the home position and may start the next measurement. The measured data is feed backed to the controlling system  100  to adjust the electroplating parameters and baths compositions. 
     It should be understood that multi-positions measurement may be employed based on the present invention.  FIG. 5  shows the thickness measurement in four positions using multiple XRFs. As shown in  FIG. 5 , four XRFs are moved to the positions where the thickness is being measured. The travelable XRFs move at same speed as the substrate in the same direction during the measurement so that they always focus on the positions where they are started. After the measurement, the XRFs are moved back to the home position and may start the next measurement. The measured data is feed backed to the controlling system  100  to adjust the electroplating parameters and baths compositions. It should be understood that the substrate moving speed in the section  160 B during the XRF measurement may be adjusted by moving the roller  163  in section  160 A up or down. By moving the roller  163  up, the moving speed of the substrate in section  160 B during the XRF measurement may be decreased. After the measurement, the roller  163  is moved down to release the stored material. 
     Referring now to the section  120 A shown in the  FIG. 1   a,  it&#39;s the first copper electroplating unit. It is consisted of a pre-cleaning unit  127 , a copper electroplating tank  121 , a solution storage tank  125 , and a post plating rinsing unit  126 . The pre-clean unit  127  is to clean the metallized substrate before copper electroplating. The metallized substrate may be cleaned with a hot alkaline solution and then followed by DI water rinsing, and then may be cleaned with a dilute acid solution followed by DI water rinsing again. The substrate after cleaning is then moved to the copper electroplating tank  121  where copper is electroplated on the metallized substrate. The copper electroplating tank is consisted of a tank  121 , an anode  123 , and a solution  122 . After the copper electroplating, the substrate is moved out of the copper bath  121  followed by DI water rinsing in the unit  126 . The chemical compositions, pH, and temperature of the solution in the copper electroplating tank  121  and the storage tank  125  are monitored by a controlling system  100 . The electroplating tank  121  is connected to the storage tank  125  through the pipe  124  and the solution  122  is circulated between them. The chemical materials are continually added to the storage tank  125  to compensate the consumption of the materials during the electroplating. The storage tank  125  is 2-30 times larger than the electroplating tank  121  so that the consumption of the material during the electroplating causes a little change of the solution concentration. The copper thickness measured from the system  160  is feed backed to the controlling system  100 . If the measured data is out of the target thickness, the controlling system  100  will send signal to adjust the copper electroplating parameters until the thickness is within the spec. The operation for the second copper electroplating section  120 B is similar with the  120 A except that the target electroplated copper thickness may be different. 
     Referring now to the section  130  shown in the  FIG. 1   a,  it&#39;s the indium electroplating unit. It is consisted of an indium electroplating tank  131 , a solution storage tank  135 , and a post plating rinsing unit  136 . The substrate after copper electroplating is moved to the indium electroplating tank  131  where indium is electroplated on the copper surface  112 . The indium electroplating tank is consisted of a tank  131 , an anode  133 , and solution  132 . After the indium electroplating, the substrate is moved out from the bath  131  followed by DI water rinsing in the section  136 . The chemical compositions, pH, and temperature of the solution in the indium electroplating tank  131  and the storage tank  135  are monitored by a controlling system. The electroplating tank  131  is connected to the storage tank  135  through a pipe  134  so that the solution  132  is circulated between them. The chemical materials are continually added to the storage tank  135  to compensate the consumption of the materials during the electroplating. The storage tank  135  is 2-30 times larger than the electroplating tank  131  so that the consumption of the material during the electroplating causes a little change of the solution concentration. The indium thickness measured from the system  160  is feed backed to the controlling system  100 . If the measured data is out of the target thickness, the controlling system  100  will send signal to adjust the indium electroplating parameters until the thickness is within the spec. 
     Referring now to the section  140  shown in the  FIG. 1   a,  it&#39;s the Ga—Se alloy electroplating unit. It is consisted of a Ga—Se electroplating tank  141 , a solution storage tank  145 , and a post plating rinsing unit  146 . The substrate after second copper electroplating is moved to the Ga—Se electroplating tank  141  where Ga—Se alloy is electroplated on the copper surface  114 . The Ga—Se electroplating tank is consisted of a tank  141 , an anode  143 , and the solution  142 . After the Ga—Se electroplating, the substrate is moved out from the bath  141  followed by DI water rinsing in the tank  146 . The chemical compositions, pH, and temperature of the solution in the indium electroplating tank  141  and the storage tank  145  are monitored by a controlling system  100 . The electroplating tank  141  is connected to the storage tank  145  through the pipe  144  so that the solution  142  is circulated between them. The chemical materials are continually added to the storage tank  145  to compensate the consumption of the materials during the electroplating. The storage tank  145  is 2-30 times larger than the electroplating tank  141  so that the consumption of the material during the electroplating causes a little change of the solution concentration. The Ga—Se thickness measured from the system  160  is feed backed to the controlling system  100 . If the measured data is out of the target thickness, the controlling system  100  will send signal to adjust the Ga—Se electroplating parameters until the thickness is within the spec. 
     The Ga—Se alloy is electroplated in an aqueous solution that contains gallium ions, selenium ions, and a complexing agent or agents. The gallium ions may be formed by adding one or more gallium salts to the solution such as gallium chloride, gallium nitride, gallium sulfate, gallium acetate, and gallium nitrate but not limited. The selenium ions may be formed by adding a selenium compound or compounds selected from the group consisting of Selenium acid (H 2 SeO 4 ), Selenous acid (H 2 SeO 3 ), Selenium dioxide (SeO 2 ), Selenium trioxide (SeO 3 ), Selenium bromide (Se 2 Br 2 ), Selenium chloride (Se 2 Cl 2 ), Selenium tetrabromide (SeBr 4 ), Selenium tetrachloride (SeCl 4 ), Selenium tetrafluoride (SeF 4 ), Selenium hexafluoride (SeF 6 ), Selenium oxybromide (SeOBr 2 ), Selenium oxychloride (SeOCl 2 ), Selenium oxyfluoride (SeOF 2 ), Selenium dioxyfluoride (SeO 2 F 2 ), Selenium sulfide (Se 2   5   6 ), and Selenium sulfide (Se 4 S 4 ). The complexing agent or agents may be added to the solution selected from the group consisting of Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ), polyethylene glycol (C 2 H 4 O) n .H 2 O, sodium lauryl sulfate (C 12 H 25 SO 4 Na), sodium ascorbate (C 6 H 7 O 6 Na), sodium salicylic (C 7 H 5 NaO 3 ), and glycine (C 2 H 5 NO 2 ). The pH of the solution may be varied between  8  and  14 . The electroplating temperature may be varied from 15° C. to 28° C. 
     It should be understood that Ga—Se—Cu alloy may be electrodeposited in section  140  by adding copper ions to the bath  141 . In this case, the solution contains gallium ions, selenium ions, copper ions, and at least one of the complexing agents. The copper ions may be formed by adding a copper salt or copper salts to the solution. 
     Referring now to the section  150  shown in the  FIG. 1 , it&#39;s the Se-alloy electroplating unit. It is consisted of a Se-alloy electroplating tank  151 , a solution storage tank  155 , and a post plating rinsing unit  156 . The substrate after Ga—Se electroplating is moved to the Se-alloy electroplating tank  151  where Se-alloy is electroplated on the Ga—Se surface  115 . The Se-alloy electroplating unit comprises a tank  151 , an anode  153 , and the solution  152 . After the Se-alloy electroplating, the substrate is moved out of the bath  151  followed by DI water rinsing in the unit  156 . The chemical compositions, pH, and temperature of the solution in the electroplating tank  151  and the storage tank  155  are monitored by a controlling system  100 . The electroplating tank  151  is connected to the storage tank  155  through the pipe  154  so that the solution  152  is circulated between them. The chemical materials are continually added to the storage tank  155  to compensate the consumption of the materials during the electroplating. The storage tank  155  is 2-30 times larger than the electroplating tank  151  so that the consumption of the material during the electroplating causes a little change of the solution concentration. The Se-alloy thickness measured from the system  160  is feed backed to the controlling system  100 . If the measured data is out of the target thickness, the controlling system  100  will send signal to adjust the electroplating parameters until the thickness is within the spec. 
     It should be understood that selenium has three structure forms: amorphous form, monoclinic form, and hexagonal form. The amorphous and monoclinic forms are nonconductor and the hexagonal form is a semiconductor. There is little information for electrodeposition of selenium. A. Von Hippel et at (Reference 8) in their work on the electrodeposition of metallic selenium stated that the current flow is ceased when the thickness is reached an average of 0.05 μm. They reported that under a strong illumination, the electroplating could only be continued to 0.12 μm before the current flow is ceased. The present invention provides a method to electroplate a conductive selenium layer which is to simultaneously electro-deposit a selenium layer with a metal or metals or electric conductor particles as a Se-alloy so that the electroplating can be continued without interrupt. The metal or metals or electric conductor particles in the Se-alloy may be one of the materials selected from the group consisting of Copper, Indium, Gallium, molybdenum, zinc, chromium, titanium, silver, palladium, platinum, nickel, iron, lead, gold, tin, cadmium, Ru, Os, Ir, Au, and Ge or compounds of these materials. 
     Based on the present invention, a selenium layer with a metal or metals or electrical conduct particles may be simultaneously electrodeposited from an aqueous solution which contains selenium ions such as (HSeO 3 ) −  and (H 3 SeO 3 ) + , one or more metal ions or insoluble electric conductor particles, and a complexing agent or agents. The selenium ions concentration in the solution may be from 0.1M to 7 M. The molar ratio of the metal or metals ions versus selenium ions in the solution may be from 0.005 to 1.0. The concentration of the metal or metals or the electric conductors in the Se-alloy may be from 0.05% to 25% but not limited. The base aqueous solution based on the present invention has selenium ions such as (HSeO 3 ) −  and (H 3 SeO 3 ) +  which may be formed by dissolving selenium compound or compounds to water or solution from at least one of the compounds selected from the group comprising of Selenium acid (H 2 SeO 4 ), Selenous acid (H 2 SeO 3 ), Selenium dioxide (SeO 2 ), Selenium trioxide (SeO 3 ), Selenium bromide (Se 2 Br 2 ), Selenium chloride (Se 2 Cl 2 ), Selenium tetrabromide (SeBr 4 ), Selenium tetrachloride (SeCl 4 ), Selenium tetrafluoride (SeF 4 ), Selenium hexafluoride (SeF 6 ), Selenium oxybromide (SeOBr 2 ), Selenium oxychloride (SeOCl 2 ), Selenium oxyfluoride (SeOF 2 ), Selenium dioxyfluoride (SeO 2 F 2 ), Selenium sulfide (Se 2   5   6 ), and Selenium sulfide (Se 4   5   4 ). The metal ions or metals ions may be formed by adding a metal salt or metal salts to the base solution or adding conductor particles to the base solution. One or more complexing agents may be added to the solution selected from the group consisting of Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt(C 7 H 13 O 8 Na), polyethylene glycol (C 2 H 4 O) n .H 2 O, sodium lauryl sulfate (C 12 H 25 SO 4 Na), sodium ascorbate (C 6 H 7 O 6 Na), sodium tartrate (Na 2 C 4 H 4 O 6 ), Glycine (C 2 H 5 NO 2 ), sodium citrate 
     (Na 3 C 6 H S O 7 .2H 2 O), and sodium salicylate (C 7 H 5 NaO 3 ). The solution pH may be adjusted between  0 . 5  and  13  by adding an acid solution or an alkaline solution. 
     For example, in order to deposit an electrical conductive layer of Se—Cu alloy which is consisted of selenium and copper elements, one or more copper salts such as copper chloride (CuCl 2 ), copper sulfate (CuSO 4 ), et al may be added to the base solution so that the solution contains selenium ions and copper ions. One or more complexing agents may be added to the solution. The molar ratio between the copper ions and the selenium ions may be varied from 0.005 to 1.0 but not limited. For example, in order to deposit an electrical conductive layer Se—In which is consisted of selenium and indium elements, the indium salt or salts may be added to the base aqueous solution so that the bath contains both the selenium ions and indium ions. The molar ratio between the indium ions and the selenium ions may be varied from 0.005 to 1.0 but not limited. One or more complexing agents may be added to the solution. For example, in order to deposit an electrical conductive layer Se—Ga which is consisted of selenium and gallium elements, the gallium salt or salts may be added to the base aqueous solution so that it contains both the selenium ions and gallium ions. The molar ratio between the gallium ions and the selenium ions may be varied from 0.005 to 1.0 but not limited. One or more complexing agents may be added to the solution. For depositing an electrical conductive layer Se—Cu—In which is consisted of selenium and small amount of copper and indium, the copper salt or salts and indium salt or salts are added to the base aqueous solution so that it contains selenium ions, copper ions, and indium ions. 
     It should be understood that the insoluble metal compound particles or insoluble electric conductor particles may be added to the base aqueous solution for depositing a conductive Se-alloy layer. When the selenium is electrodeposited, the insoluble particles may be simultaneously deposited due to the molecular absorbing force. The dimension of the insoluble particles may be varied from 0.1 μm to 10 μm but not limited. In a specific embodiment, the Se-alloy layer is controlled its thickness within a range of 10-100 nm. Any insoluble particles with sizes greater than 100 nm must be eliminated, by filtering or other methods, when the corresponding aqueous electroplating solution  152  is prepared and stored in storage tank  155 . 
     After electrochemically depositing a stack of copper, indium, Ga—Se, and Se-alloy as described above, the part is then thermally treated at a temperature between 400° C. and 700° C. to form a semiconductor thin film as shown in section  170  of the  FIG. 1   b.  The selenization system  170  is consisted of zoon  172 , zoon  173 , and zoon  174 . The zoon  172  has two heaters  172 A and  172 B which are to quickly heat the electroplated stack to a target temperature. The zoon  173  has heater/cooler  173 A and  173 B which are to control the temperature. The zoon  174  has coolers  174 A and  174 B which are to cool down the substrate. The selenization system also has gas enter and exit for gas  175  flows in and out. If the electroplated stack is thermally treated in nitrogen or argon atmosphere, Cu(InGa)Se 2  semiconductor thin film is formed. If it is thermally treated in an atmosphere with S and nitrogen gas, Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  semiconductor thin film may be formed. It has been found that the solar cell efficiency can be improved by adding S to the semiconductor layer. 
     After selenization, a n-type semiconductor thin film CdS or ZnS is then deposited on Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  surface to form a p-n junction as shown in  FIG. 1   b  section  180 . The CdS or ZnS chemical deposition system is consisted of a pre-clean unit  181 , a chemical bath  182 , and a post clean unit  184 . 
     The window layers of ZnO/ZnO:Al or ZnO/ITO (indium tin oxide) are then deposited followed by depositing the front metal contactors to form solar cells. The front contact electrodes are then formed by printing process. 
     The surface  111  in  FIG. 1   a  is the metalized substrate before copper electroplating. The surfaces  112 ,  113 ,  114 ,  115 , and  116  in  FIG. 1   a  are after copper, indium, copper, Ga—Se, and Se-alloy electroplating, respectively. The surface  117  in  FIG. 1   b  is after removing the water from the stack surface. The surface  118  in  FIG. 1   b  is after selenization and the surface  119  in  FIG. 1   b  is after deposition of CdS or ZnS n-type semiconductor thin film. 
       FIGS. 2-1 ,  2 - 2 ,  2 - 3 ,  2 - 4 ,  2 - 5 ,  2 - 6 , and  2 - 7  show cross sectional views of processing stack of films for forming CIGS solar cells for one of the embodiments based on the present invention.  FIG. 2-1  shows a cross sectional view of the metalized substrate comprising of a substarte  201 , a back contact electrode film  202 , and a copper seed layer  203 .  FIG. 2-2  shows a cross sectional view after electroplating a stack of Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se—Cu films on the metalized substrate. The film  204   a  and film  204   b  in  FIG. 2-2  are the first electroplated and second electroplated copper layers, respectively. The film  205  in  FIG. 2-2  is an indium layer, film  206  in  FIG. 2-2  is a Ga—Se alloy layer, and film  207  is a Se—Cu alloy layer after a series of electroplating processes one after another.  FIG. 2-3  shows a cross sectional view after the selenization through a thermal treatment process, wherein the  201  is a substrate,  202  is a back contact electrode film, and  208  is a Cu(InGa)Se 2  or Cu(InGa)(SeS) 2  semiconductor thin film.  FIG. 2-4  shows a cross sectional view after chemical deposition of a CdS or ZnS thin film  209 . The n-type semiconductor layer of CdS may be deposited using a chemical bath method in an aqueous solution comprising of 0.0015-0.005M CdSO 4 , 2.0-3.0M NH 4 OH 2.25, and 0.1-0.3M SC(NH 2 ) 2  at 50-70° C. The alternative n-type semiconductor to CdS may be ZnS which can be deposited from a aqueous chemical bath composition of 0.16 M ZnSO 4 , 7.5M ammonia, and 0.6M thiorea at 70-80° C.  FIG. 2-5  shows a cross sectional view after deposition of the zinc oxide (ZnO) layer  210 . The zinc oxide (ZnO) may be deposited using a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering.  FIG. 2-6  shows a cross sectional view after deposition of ZnO:Al layer or ITO layer  211 . Al-doped ZnO (Al:ZnO) thin films were deposited at 150-300 C by RF-magnetron sputtering and then annealed by a rapid thermal process under different ambient.  FIG. 2-7  shows a cross sectional view after forming the front electrodes  212 . The front electrodes may be formed by printing silver paste such as Dupont PV410 and PV412. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the stack of films shown in  FIG. 2-2  is replaced by an alternative stack of films shown in  FIG. 2-2   a.  In particular, film  207   a  in  FIG. 2-2   a  is a thin Se-alloy layer formed in last electroplating process (for example, in section  150 ). Subsequently, film  207   b  is a vacuum deposited film made in a vacuum evaporation unit having two installed evaporation sources. One source includes a sodium salt NaF. Another source includes pure Se material, or a Se—S mixed material, or a Se—S—NaF mixture. In an example, the film  207   a  is a thin Se-alloy layer having thickness only in a range of 10-100 nm formed by electroplating process. The film  207   b  is a Se—Na film having a thickness in a range of 1-3 microns made by vacuum evaporation. In another example, the film  207   b  is a Se—S film having a thickness in a range of 1-3 microns with only one Se—S source installed in the vacuum evaporation unit. In yet another example, the film  207   b  is a Se—S—Na film having a thickness in a range of 1-3 microns made by vacuum evaporation. In still another example, the film  207   b  is a Se film having a thickness in a range of 1-3 microns with only one Se source installed in the vacuum evaporation unit. After the film  207   b  is formed, the flexible substrate carrying all the stack of films shown in  FIG. 2-2   a  is further moved towards a thickness measurement unit before being subjected to a selenization through a thermal treatment process within an environment containing sulfur gas and some inert gas at 400-700° C. As the result of the selenization process, a p-type semiconductor film  208  is formed, as illustrated in  FIG. 2-3 . Rest processes as shown in  FIGS. 2-5 ,  2 - 6 , and  2 - 7  can be further carried out to form a n-type semiconductor on the p-type semiconductor, and form a window transparent conductive layer overlying the n-type semiconductor, and form front electrodes on the window transparent conductive layer, for the manufacture of the CIGS thin film solar cells. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     The substrates used for the tests were stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Cu, stainless steel/SiO 2 /Mo/Cu/In, and glass/Mo/Cu/In. These substrates have Cu and In surface where Ga—Se alloy is being electroplated. The solutions used for the tests were consisted of gallium chloride (GaCl 3 ), 0.01 M selenium dioxide (SeO 2 ), and one of the complexing agents selected from the group comprising of  0 . 1  M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ), 0.1 M polyethylene glycol (C 2 H 4 O) n .H 2 O, 0.15M sodium lauryl sulfate (C 12 H 25 SO 4 Na), 0.3 M sodium ascorbate (C 6 H 7 O 6 Na), 0.25 M sodium salicylic (C 7 H 5 NaO 3 ), and 0.2M glycine (C 2 H 5 NO 2 ). The gallium chloride concentration was 0.15 M, 0.35 M, 0.50 M, 1.0 M, and 2.0 M. The pH was adjusted to 10.5, 12.5, and 13.5 respectively. Current density was varied from 5 mA/cm 2  to 50 mA/cm 2 . Temperature was at 15° C., 20° C., and 25° C. The electroplated Ga—Se alloy thickness was from 300 to 1000 nm. The electroplated Ga—Se surface was dense, bright, and smooth. However, it was found that when gallium chloride concentration was increased to 1.5 M or over, the solution flow-ability was decreased. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     The substrates used for the tests were stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Cu and stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In. The solutions used for the tests were consisted of 0.25 M gallium chloride (GaCl 3 ), selenous acid (H 2   50   3 ), and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). The concentration of selenous acid (H 2 SO 3 ) was 0.01 M, 0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.25M, respectively. The pH was adjusted to 10.5 and 13.5 respectively. Current density was at 25 mA/cm 2 . Temperature was at 20° C. The electroplated Ga—Se alloy thickness was from 300 to 1000 nm. The electroplated Ga—Se surface was dense, bright, and smooth. 
     EXAMPLE 3 
     The substrates used for the tests were stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Cu and stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In. The solutions used for the tests were consisted of 0.25 M gallium chloride (GaCl 3 ), 0.025 M selenous acid (H 2 SO 3 ), 0.025 M CuCl 2 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). The pH was adjusted to 10.5 and 13.5 respectively. Current density was at 25 mA/cm 2 . Temperature was at 20 C. The electroplated Ga—Se—Cu alloy thickness was around 500 nm. The electroplated Ga—Se—Cu surface was dense, bright, and smooth. 
     EXAMPLE 4 
     The aqueous electroplating bath was consisted of 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M CuCl 2 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). The current density was at 15 mA/cm 2 , 25 mA/cm 2 , and 50 mA/cm 2 . The temperature was at 15° C., 20° C., and 25° C., respectively. The pH was 1.75, 8.5, and 11.5, respectively. The anode used for the electroplating was a stainless steel plate. Substrates with indium, copper, and gallium on the top surface where is being electroplated were used for the experimental as: stainless steel/Mo/Cu, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/Ga—Se, stainless steel/Si 3 N 4 /Mo/Cu, and soda lime glass/Mo/Cu/In/Ga. For stainless steel/Si 3 N 4 /Mo/Cu, the Si 3 N 4  was patterned with partially opening so that the Mo is directly contacted with stainless steel through the opening areas. The Se—Cu alloy was electrodeposited on the above substrates. The results showed that no any interrupt was found with the Se—Cu thickness up to 10 μm. The maximum current density can be 50 mA/cm 2 . It was found that the electrodeposited Se—Cu layer has dense surface on indium and gallium surface than on copper surface. 
     It should be understood that stainless steel is not only material for anode for Se—Cu electroplating. The stable electric conduct materials such as graphite, platinum (Pt), and gold as well as selenium alloy such as Se—Cu alloy may be used as an anode. 
     EXAMPLE 5 
     The aqueous electroplating bath was consisted of 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M CuCl 2 , and 0.1 M polyethylene glycol (PEG). The current density was at 15 mA/cm 2 . The temperature was at 20° C. pH was adjusted to 1.75, 8.5, and 11.5, respectively. The anode used for the electroplating was a stainless steel plate. Substrates with indium, copper, and gallium on the top surface where is being electroplated were used for the experimental as: stainless stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/Ga/In, stainless steel/SiO 2 /Mo/Cu, and soda lime glass/Mo/Cu/In/Ga. The results showed that no any interrupt was found with the deposition of Se—Cu thickness up to 10 μm. The electrodeposited Se—Cu layer has dense and smooth surface. 
     EXAMPLE 6 
     The aqueous electroplating bath was consisted of 2 M SeO 2 , 0.1 M CuCl 2 , and 0.6 M sodium lauryl sulfate (C 12 H 25 SO 4 Na). The current density was at 15 mA/cm 2 . The temperature was at 20° C. pH was adjusted to 1.75, 8.5, and 11.5 respectively. The anode used for the electroplating was a stainless steel plate. Substrates with indium and gallium on the top surface where is being electroplated were used for tests, respectively, as: stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga, stainless steel/SiO 2 /Mo/Cu, and soda lime glass/Mo/Cu/In/Ga. For stainless steel/ SiO 2 /Mo/Cu, the SiO 2  was patterned with partially opening so that the Mo is directly contacted with stainless steel through the opening areas. The results showed that no any interrupt was found with the deposition of Se—Cu thickness up to 10 μm. It was found that the electroplating was successful at the above solutions. The electrodeposited Se—Cu layer has smooth surface. 
     EXAMPLE 7 
     The base aqueous electroplating bath was consisted of 0.5 M, 2.5 M, and 5 M SeO 2  and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). Copper salt CuCl 2  was added to the bath with 0.1 g/l, 10 g/l, 50 g/l, and 250 g/l, respectively. The current density was 15 mA/cm 2  and 50 mA/cm 2 , respectively. The temperature was at 20° C. The pH was adjusted to 1.75 and 9.5, respectively. Substrates with indium and gallium on the top surface where is being electroplated were used for tests as: stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In, stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga and stainless steel/Mo/Cu/Ga/In. The results showed that no any interrupt was found with the deposition of Se-Cu thickness up to 10 μm. The electrodeposited Se—Cu layer has dense and smooth surface. 
     EXAMPLE 8 
     Four aqueous electroplating baths were used for the experimental as: 
     A. 2 M SeO 2 , 0.04 M CuSO 4 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ) 
     B. 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M InCl 3 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ) 
     C. 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M GaCl 3 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ) 
     D. 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M CuCl 2 , 0.05 M GaCl3 and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). 
     The current density was 15 mA/cm 2 . The temperature was at 20° C. The pH was adjusted to 1.75 and 8.5, respectively. The anode used for the electroplating tests was a stainless steel plate. Substrates with indium and gallium on top surface were used for electroplating as: stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In and stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga. No any interrupt was found in the above solutions with the thickness of electrodeposited layer up to 10 μm. It was found that the electrodeposited layers have dense and smooth surface. 
     EXAMPLE 9 
     The base aqueous electroplating bath was consisted of 2 M selenium dioxide (SeO 2 ) and 0.05M CuCl 2 . One complexing agent was added to the solution selected from the group comprising of 0.3 M sodium ascorbate (C 6 H 7 O 6 Na), 0.25 M sodium tartrate (Na 2 C 4 H 4 O 6 ), 0.3 M Glycine (C 2 H 5 NO 2 ), 0.25 M sodium citrate (Na 3 C 6 H S O 7 .2H 2 O), and 0.2 M sodium salicylate (C 7 H 5 NaO 3 ). Substrates with indium and gallium on the top surface were used for tests as: stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In and stainless steel/Mo/Cu/In/Ga. The current density was 15 mA/cm 2  and 50 ma/cm 2 , respectively. The temperature was at 20° C. The pH was adjusted to 1.75, and 9.5, respectively. The results showed that no any interrupt was found with the deposition of Se—Cu thickness up to 10 μm. It was found that the electrodeposited Se—Cu layer has dense and smooth surface. 
     EXAMPLE 10 
     Copper, indium, Ga—Se alloy, and Se—Cu alloy were sequentially electroplated as a stack on a metallized substrate. The substrate used for the experimental was stainless steel/Mo/Cu. The Mo thickness was 500 nm and the Cu thickness was 30 nm. Copper, indium, Ga—Se alloy, and Se—Cu alloy were sequentially deposited on the substrate. 
     The copper electroplating bath was a cyanide-free alkaline copper plating solution. The current density was varied from 10 mA/cm 2  to 25 mA/cm 2 . The electroplated copper thickness was 400 nm. 
     The indium bath used for the electroplating was consisted of indium sulfamate, sodium sulfamate, sulfamic acid, sodium chloride, and triethanolamine with a pH of about 1.5. The current density was varied from 5 mA/cm2 to 50 mA/cm 2 . Anode was a pure indium plate. The temperature was at 15° C., 20° C., and 28° C. The electrodeposited indium thickness was around 800 nm. 
     The aqueous Ga—Se electroplating bath was consisted of 0.25 M gallium chloride (GaCl 3 ), 0.01 M selenous acid (H 2 SeO 3 ), and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). 
     The temperature was at 15° C., 20° C., and 28° C., respectively. The electroplated Ga—Se thickness was around 200 nm. 
     The aqueous Se—Cu alloy electroplating bath was consisted of 2 M SeO 2 , 0.05 M CuCl 2 , and 0.1 M Glucoheptonic acid sodium salt (C 7 H 13 NaO 8 ). The current density was 15 mA/cm 2 . The temperature was 20° C. The pH was 1.75. The anode used for the electroplating was a stainless steel plate. The electroplated Se—Cu thickness was around 1350 nm. 
     The following stacks were sequentially electroplated: 
     Cu/In/Ga—Se/Se—Cu 
     Cu/Ga—Se/In/Se—Cu 
     Cu/In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se—Cu 
     In/Cu/Ga—Se/Se—Cu 
     Cu/In/Se—Cu/Ga—Se, 
     Cu/Ga—Se/Se—Cu/In, 
     Cu/Se—Cu/In/Ga—Se, 
     Cu/Se—Cu/Ga—Se/In, 
     The above electroplated stacks were selenized at 500-600° C. to form a Cu(InGa)Se 2  semiconductor thin film.