Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Institute (MURI) - 2013
Project Title:
Layer-by-Layer Self Assembly of CIGS-Polymer Thin Films for Solar Cell Applications
Sudhir Shrestha, Mangilal Agarwal, and Kody Varahramyan
Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute (INDI)
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN
Project Summary: This project intends to engage undergraduate students from various backgrounds in nanotechnology research. Nanotechnology deals with the materials, devices, and systems, in which at least one parameter is in nanometer scale range. This research aims to develop copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) nanoparticles films through solution-based fabrication processes for high efficiency solar cell applications. CIGS have been widely studied for thin-film solar cell manufacturing. In this research, thin films using CIGS nanoparticles and polymers will be fabricated through low-cost and highly scalable nanofabrication processes such as layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly and spray deposition. LbL nanoassembly uses oppositely charged CIGS nanoparticles to deposit nanofilms on both flexible and rigid substrates of various sizes and shapes. The research will further conduct study on properties (optical and electrical) of
LbL fabricated thin films to understand and reduce recombination and other losses. The developed films will be employed in solar cell devices. The project is multidisciplinary in nature and comprises of many aspects of nanotechnology, such as synthesis of CIGS nanoparticles, size and materials characterization, functionalization of the particles, fabrication and study of CIGS nanoparticles and polymers films, and assembly and characterization of solar cells. The project will involve usage of size and zeta potential measurement instruments, semiconductor characterization instruments, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), and x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). The research will be conducted in Integrated
Nanosystems Development Institute (INDI) laboratories.