Facilities

Institute of Energy Conversion|   Facilities

The 40,000-square-foot IEC building houses laboratory and office space to accommodate the Institute’s sophisticated thin-film solar cell and related engineering research programs. The Institute is the only thin-film photovoltaic laboratory in the world currently conducting basic research and development on a broad range of thin-film solar cell materials. The center is one of two U.S. Department of Energy Centers of Excellence for photovoltaic research and education.

Equipment

The IEC laboratories have a vast array of equipment – often custom- designed and built – to further our studies fulfill requests on behalf of our partners. Below is a list of current equipment being used in the IEC labs. Our equipment list changes constantly, and new pieces are added depending on project requirements.

Thin Film Deposition
  • Roll-to-Roll inline deposition system with four elemental effusion sources and in-situ flux control for depositing Cu(InGa)Se2 thin films onto a 15 cm wide moving web.
  • Four-source elemental evaporator for depositing Cu(InGa)Se2 onto an array of nine 2.5×2.5 cm substrates.
  • Four-source elemental evaporator for depositing Cu(InAl)Se2 onto an array of nine 2.5×2.5 cm substrates.
  • Five-source elemental evaporator for depositing Cu(InGa)(Se,S)2 onto an array of nine 2.5×2.5 cm substrates.
  • Vacuum evaporator configured for reacting Cu/In/Ga or other layers using Se and/or S evaporation sources.
  • CVD reactor for reacting Cu/In/Ga or other layers with H2Se and/or H2S gas.
  • Vapor transport deposition system for depositing II-VI compounds onto moving 10×10 cm substrates in inert or reactive ambient over wide range of pressure and temperature.
  • Three-source evaporator for depositing II-VI compounds and alloys.
    Hot wire chemical vapor deposition for depositing a-Si:H and polycrystalline Si thin films and devices.
  • Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for depositing a-Si:H and
    a-SiGe:H films and devices.
  • Six-chamber, in-line, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for depositing a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H films and devices.
  • Reactor for RTP treatment of films and wafers.
  • Reactor for treating films in halide vapors.
  • Chemical bath (CBD) and chemical surface (CSD) deposition of uniform CdS, ZnS and Cd1-xZnxS alloy films from 10 to 100nm thick.
  • Electron beam evaporator with three independently controlled sources for simultaneous or single element deposition of metals.
  • Electron beam evaporator with rotatable 4-source turret for depositing most metals and anti-reflection coatings.
  • Electron beam evaporator with rotatable 4-source turret and two sputtering sources.
  • Three target RF/DC sputtering system for deposition of Mo, ZnO, and ITO.
  • Four target DC magnetron sputtering system for deposition of Cu, In, Ga, Mo, and other metals.
  • Kurt Lesker six target RF/DC sputtering system with load lock chamber.
    Small sputter coater for deposition of ultra-thin metal layers.
  • Crest Ultrasonic substrate cleaning and drying facility.
  • Assorted tube furnaces and drying ovens for heat treatment and reaction in air, argon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen-argon.
  • Full positive photolithography capability including spin coater, Suss Mask Aligner, and well established etching procedures.
  • Circulating de-ionized water facility with 11 stations and one Barnstead NanoPure water station.
Material Characterization
  • Amray 1810T Digital Scanning Electron Microscope (15X to 100,000X) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron Back-Scatter Imaging capabilities.
  • Perkin-Elmer Lambda-750 UV-visible-IR Spectrophotometer fitted with integrating sphere.
  • Philips/Norelco Scanning Wide Angle X-ray Diffractometer with diffracted beam monochromation (CuKa) and digital control/acquisition.
  • Philips Scanning Wide Angle X-ray Diffractometer with diffracted beam monochromation (CuKa, CrKa, CoKa), variable slits and digital control/acquisition.
  • Rigaku D/Max Scanning X-ray Diffractometer with symmetric theta-2 theta and asymmetric glancing incidence geometries, variable slits, hot stage (to 450°C), and computer control/acquisition.
  • Physical Electronics XPS system with load-lock sample preparation chamber and differentially pumped Ar ion gun for depth profiling.
    Digital Instruments Dimension 3100 Scanning Probe Microscope with capabilities including tunneling, electrostatic force, and magnetic force microscopy.
  • PAR computer controlled Potentiostat-Galvanostat.
  • Olympus Optical Microscope with reflected, transmitted, and polarized illumination. Accessories include Nomarski optics and dual axis stage with verniers.
  • Woollam Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometer.
  • Dektak surface profilometer.
  • ThermoScientific DXR Raman microscope.
  • ThermoScientific Nicolet 6700 FTIR.
  • Light and dark conductivity as a function of illumination intensity and temperature.
  • Hall effect measurement system.
  • Sinton lifetime testing facility.
Device Analysis
  • Current-voltage testing as a function of illumination intensity, spectral content, and temperature.
  • Two Oriel Xenon solar simulators (AM1.5 global spectra).
  • Spectral response with light and voltage bias capabilities.
  • HP4274 LCR meter for capacitance measurements as a function of illumination intensity and temperature.
  • Laser scanning facility-optical beam induced current.
  • Four-pod accelerated stress exposure facility, allowing up to 16 samples to be independently monitored and maintained under different states of controlled atmosphere, illumination, electrical bias and temperature.
  • Two-chamber accelerated stress exposure facility for up to 2ft x 2ft illuminated area in controlled temperature and humidity ambient. Other
    US Laser two-wavelength (1064nm, 532nm) laser scriber.
  • Asymtek Mechanical scriber and High resolution ink jet printer.
  • Sheet glass cutting facility.
  • Metallurgical polishing facility.