Preparation and optimization of a molybdenum electrode for CIGS solar cells

Molybdenum (Mo) films were deposited by radio frequency (RF), direct current (DC) and mixed magnetron sputtering, respectively. With changing the deposition parameters including deposition pressure and power, the films show different surface morphology and crystallinity. Lower resistivity of the films is obtained in the DC mode and better reflectivity of the films is obtained in the RF mode. It is shown that the crystallinity increases when the deposition pressure decreases. The crystallinity and the grain size both increase as the deposition power increasing. The lowest resistivity of the single Mo film is 34×10-6 Ω·cm when the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa and the deposition power is 300 W in the DC mode. In order to obtain lower resistivity, better adhesion and better reflectivity, bilayer films and tri-layer films were both deposited in different mode. They all show good adhesion and low resistivity. The Mo films deposited in mixed mode show better reflectivity. It is demonstrated that the resistivity of about 65×10-6 Ω·cm is achieved in DC/RF mode and the resistivity of about 61×10-6 Ω·cm is achieved in RF/DC/RF mode. And the tri-layer films achieved in RF/DC/RF mode have better reflectivity than bilayer films achieved in DC/RF mode. The tri-layer films achieved in RF/DC/RF mode is appropriate for using as the electrode of CIGS solar cells.