Issue 1, 2015

Capabilities and limitations of LA-ICP-MS for depth resolved analysis of CdTe photovoltaic devices

Abstract

The analytical potential of ArF* excimer Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is investigated for fast qualitative depth profile analysis of multi-layer CdTe photovoltaic (PV) devices. Critical parameters (e.g. laser fluence and laser repetition rate) are evaluated and optimized to reduce the aerosol mixing from consecutive laser shots and to achieve a low penetration rate. As a result, a high depth resolution (10 s of nm) is demonstrated through the analyses of superficial and embedded coatings. For instance, a layer with a thickness of 100 nm at a depth of 3 μm is successfully measured. Moreover, qualitative profiles of major and minor elements obtained by LA-ICP-MS are validated using reference techniques such as Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) or Glow Discharge Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (GD-TOFMS). Additionally, the shape and morphology of the laser-induced craters, after different numbers of laser shots, are investigated using mechanical profilometry and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively.

Graphical abstract: Capabilities and limitations of LA-ICP-MS for depth resolved analysis of CdTe photovoltaic devices

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 ဇွန် 2014
Accepted
13 ဩ 2014
First published
13 ဩ 2014

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2015,30, 191-197

Author version available

Capabilities and limitations of LA-ICP-MS for depth resolved analysis of CdTe photovoltaic devices

A. Gutiérrez-González, C. González-Gago, J. Pisonero, N. Tibbetts, A. Menéndez, M. Vélez and N. Bordel, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2015, 30, 191 DOI: 10.1039/C4JA00196F

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