Abstract

This study attempted to manufacture Cu-In and Cu-Ga coating materials via the cold spray deposition (as a new process for sputtering target material) and to investigate the material’s applicability as a sputtering target for solar cell. To examine the microstructural and property changes made to those coating layers, purity, density, hardness, and porosity were measured. The results showed that coating layers of Cu-In and Cu-Ga could be well manufactured via cold spraying under optimal process conditions. With the Cu-In coating layer, the pure Cu and intermetallic compounds of Cu₇In₃ and Cu4In were found to exist inside the layer. In the case of Cu-Ga layer, pure Cu, and Cu₃Ga were detected. The value of porosity significantly decreased after annealing heat treatment. A Sputtering test was actually conducted using the cold sprayed Cu based materials and it was confirmed that those coating materials could be applied as a sputtering target material for solar cell.

Keywords: Annealing, cold spray deposition, Cu-In, Cu-Ga, solar cell, sputtering target.