Inguanta R., Spano T., Oliveri L., Piazza S., Sunseri C., 2013, Electrodeposition and Photo-electrochemical Behaviour of CIGS Thin Films and Nanowire Arrays for Solar Cell, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 32, 343-348.
In this work, we present some results concerning the electrochemical fabrication of CIGS thin films and nanowires, for semiconducting p-n junction fabrication. Tuned nanowire length and composition were achieved by adjusting applied potential and electrolyte composition. Also in the case of thin films, composition was controlled by varying the concentration of metal salts in the electrodeposition bath. Deposits were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electrode Microscopy (SEM), Raman Spectroscopy, Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS) and by photo-electrochemical measurements. XRD patterns showed that as-synthesized semiconducting compounds were amorphous, independent of deposition conditions. EDS analysis revealed the formation of CIGS compounds with different values of the Cu/(In+Ga) and Ga/(In+Ga) ratios. In order to tune the composition of CIGS, thermal treatment at ~400°C for 1h was also performed under Ar atmosphere. Photoelectrochemical measurements showed that CIGS compounds display cathodic photocurrent independent of deposition conditions, whilst different optical gap values were measured.
