Formation of cigs absorber layer materials using atomic layer deposition and high throughput surface treatment

Abstract

An absorber layer may be formed on a substrate using atomic layer deposition reactions. An absorber layer containing elements of groups IB, IIIA and VIB may be formed by placing a substrate in a treatment chamber and performing atomic layer deposition of a group IB element and/or one or more group IIIA elements from separate sources onto a substrate to form a film. A group VIA element is then incorporated into the film and annealed to form the absorber layer. The absorber layer may be greater than about 25 nm thick. The substrate may be coiled into one or more coils in such a way that adjacent turns of the coils do not touch one another. The coiled substrate may be placed in a treatment chamber where substantially an entire surface of the one or more coiled substrates may be treated by an atomic layer deposition process. One or more group IB elements and/or one or more group IIIA elements may be deposited onto the substrate in a stoichiometrically controlled ratio by atomic layer deposition using one or more self limiting reactions.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . An in-line reactor to process a substrate according to a predetermined temperature profile, the reactor comprising; a substrate inlet; a substrate outlet; a series of chambers between the inlet and the outlet, each chamber including: an upper body, a lower body, a gap formed between the upper body and the lower body, wherein the gap includes a width, a height and a length, and wherein a ratio of a narrowest width to a narrowest height for each chamber is at least 15, and wherein the gap of each of the series of chambers is aligned with the gap of the other chambers in the series, and a temperature controller that regulates the temperature within the gap based upon the predetermined temperature profile so that there is a different temperature within the gap of at least some of the chambers; a mechanism to move the substrate from the inlet to the outlet through each gap of the series of chambers; and at least one gas inlet configured to deliver a gas into the gap of a corresponding at least one of the chambers. 
     
     
         12 . The reactor according to  claim 11 , wherein adjacent chambers are separated by a buffer region. 
     
     
         13 . The reactor according to  claim 12 , wherein the gap height within at least one chamber varies across its width. 
     
     
         14 . The reactor according to  claim 13 , wherein the gap height within at least one chamber varies across its length. 
     
     
         15 . The reactor according to  claim 12 , wherein the gap height within at least one chamber varies across its length. 
     
     
         16 . The reactor according to  claim 11 , wherein the gap height within at least some of the chambers is different. 
     
     
         17 . The reactor according to  claim 11 , wherein the gap height within each chamber is substantially the same. 
     
     
         18 . The reactor according to  claim 11 , wherein the temperature controller controls a heating element and a cooling element. 
     
     
         19 . The reactor according to  claim 11  wherein the mechanism includes a supply spool and a receiving spool that are used to supply and receive, respectively, a flexible foil substrate. 
     
     
         20 . The reactor according to  claim 12 , further comprising a secondary enclosure that contains the series of chambers and the mechanism. 
     
     
         21 . The reactor according to  claim 11  further including at least one of Se-containing gas and S-containing gas connected to the gas inlet for supplying at least one of Se and S to the gap. 
     
     
         22 . The reactor according to  claim 11  wherein the gap height within the at least one chamber that contains the gas inlet is higher than an adjacent chamber that does not contain any gas inlet. 
     
     
         23 . The reactor according to  claim 11  wherein each of the series of chambers further includes a gap entrance, a gap exit, a gap entrance seal, a gap exit seal, and a second mechanism to move the upper body and the lower body relative to each other between an open position and a closed position, such that when in the open position the substrate is moved by the first mechanism, and when in the closed position the gap is sealed by the gap entrance seal and the gap exit seal. 
     
     
         24 . The reactor according to  claim 23 , wherein at least one gas outlet is associated with one of the chambers and is configured to remove a gas from the gap of the one chamber when the chamber is in the closed position. 
     
     
         25 . The reactor according to  claim 23 , wherein adjacent chambers are separated by a buffer region. 
     
     
         26 . The reactor according to  claim 23 , wherein the temperature controller controls a heating element and a cooling element. 
     
     
         27 . The reactor according to  claim 23  wherein the mechanism includes a supply spool and a receiving spool that are used to supply and receive, respectively, a flexible foil substrate. 
     
     
         28 . The reactor according to  claim 23 , further comprising a secondary enclosure that contains the series of chambers and the mechanism. 
     
     
         29 . The reactor according to  claim 28  wherein the mechanism includes a supply spool and a receiving spool that are used to supply and receive, respectively, a flexible foil substrate. 
     
     
         30 . The reactor according to  claim 23  further including at least one of Se-containing gas and S-containing gas connected to the gas inlet for supplying at least one of Se and S to the gap. 
     
     
         31 - 50 . (canceled)