CHALCOGENIDE SOLAR CELLS
A precursor material for forming a film of a group IB-IIIA-chalcogenide compound and a method of making this film are disclosed. The film contains group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles and/or group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles and/or nanoglobules and/or nanodroplets and a source of extra chalcogen. Alternatively, the film may contain core-shell nanoparticles having core nanoparticles include group IB and/or IIIA elements, which are coated with a shell of elemental chalcogen material. The method of making a film of group IB-IIIA- chalcogenide compound includes mixing the nanoparticles and/or nanoglobules and/or nanodroplets to form an ink, depositing the ink on a substrate, heating to melt the extra chalcogen and to react the chalcogen with the group IB and group IIIA elements and/or chalcogenides to form a dense film.
1 . A precursor material for forming a film of a group IB-IIIA-chalcogenide compound, comprising:
group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles containing a non-oxide chalcogenide material in the form of an alloy of a chalcogen with an element of group IB; and/or
group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles containing a non-oxide chalcogenide material in the form of an alloy of a chalcogen with one or more elements of group IIIA; and
a source of extra chalcogen mixed with the group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles and the group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles.
2 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the source of extra chalcogen includes particles of an elemental chalcogen.
3 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the chalcogen is selenium and/or sulfur and/or tellurium.
4 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the group IB element is copper.
5 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the one or more elements of group IIIA include gallium and/or indium and/or aluminum.
6 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles include nanoparticles of copper selenide and/or copper sulfide and/or copper telluride.
7 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles include nanoparticles of indium selenide, and/or nanoparticles of indium sulfide, and/or nanoparticles of indium telluride, and/or nanoparticles of gallium selenide and/or nanoparticles of gallium sulfide and/or gallium telluride.
8 . The precursor material of claim 1 wherein the group IB-chalcogenide nanoparticles and/or the group IIIA-chalcogenide nanoparticles include a chalcogenide core with a chalcogen-containing coating, whereby the coating provides the extra source of chalcogen.
9 . A precursor material for forming a film of a group IB-IIIA-chalcogenide compound, comprising:
core-shell nanoparticles having core nanoparticles containing one or more elements from group TB and/or IIIA and a coating of a non-oxygen chalcogen and/or chalcogenide material on the core nanoparticles;
whereby the coating provides an extra source of chalcogen.
10 . The precursor material of claim 9 , further comprising a source of extra chalcogen material mixed with the core-shell nanoparticles.
11 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the core nanoparticles include nanoparticles of a group TB element and nanoparticles of one or more group IIIA elements.
12 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the group TB element is copper.
13 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the group IIIA elements include indium and/or gallium.
14 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the non-oxygen chalcogen material is selenium and/or sulfur and/or tellurium.
15 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the core-shell nanoparticles include core nanoparticles of a binary alloy, the binary alloy containing a group TB element and a chalcogen.
16 . The precursor material of claim 15 wherein the group TB element is copper and the chalcogen is selenium or sulfur or tellurium.
17 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the core-shell nanoparticles include core nanoparticles of a binary alloy, the binary alloy containing a group IIIA element and/or a chalcogen.
18 . The precursor material of claim 17 wherein the group IIIA element is indium or gallium and the chalcogen is selenium or sulfur or tellurium.
19 . The precursor material of claim 9 wherein the core-shell nanoparticles include core nanoparticles of a ternary alloy, the ternary alloy containing two different group IIIA elements and a chalcogen.
20 . The precursor material of claim 19 wherein the two different group IIIA elements are indium and gallium and the chalcogen is selenium and/or sulfur and/or tellurium.