Ion-beam analysis of solar-cell materials

A review of typical applications of ion-beam analysis techniques in the field of thin-film solar-cell materials is presented. Special emphasis is put on the chalcopyrite semiconductor CuInS2 and its important production processes, which include: physical vapour deposition, reactive annealing of metallic precursors, and molecular beam epitaxy. Rutherford backscattering with alpha particles and heavy ions, hydrogen profiling with the N-15 method,ion channelling, and gamma gamma perturbed angular correlations yield important information about the produced light-absorbing CuInS2 layers and their precursors. Additionally, implanted nuclear probes are employed in order to characterize indium-tin-oxide films which serve as contact layers and anti-reflection coatings of solar cells.