Most commonly CIGS solar cells are grown in substrate configuration (see Figure 3). The Cu-chalcopyrites exhibit the highest efficiencies among the thin-film solar cells with a record labscale efficiency reaching nearly 20%. The emphasis of the present paper is placed on the progress made in different aspects of CIGS solar cells in the recent times. There are several reviews available dealing with different aspects of CIGS solar cells. Moreover, the flexibility of these cells allows for novel storage and deployment options.
CIGS cells are also superior to GaAs cells in radiation hardness. It offers specific power up to 919 W/Kg, the highest for any solar cell. Recently a slight increase in efficiency of 14.7% and 17.7% has been reported for CIGS cells on polyimide and metal foils, respectively.ĬIGS solar cells also attract considerable interest for space applications due to their two main advantages. Highest efficiencies of 14.1% and 17.6% have been reported for CIGS cells on polyimide and metal foils, respectively. Glass is the most commonly used substrate, but now efforts are being made to develop flexible solar cells on polyimide and metal foils. Many groups across the world have developed CIGS solar cells with efficiencies in the range of 15-19%, depending on different growth procedures. Typical materials for the individual parts of the cell are given in brackets.įigure 2: Scanning electron micrograph of the cross-section of a typical chalcopyrite solar cell with Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGSe) absorber (substrate now shown). įigure 1: Schematic cross-section of a chalcopyrite-based thin-film solar cell. The CuInSe 2 crystal was replaced by a polycrystalline thin film of the more general composition Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2. The typical design, first described in 1985 is shown in Figure 1 and a typical cross-section CIGS device structure is shown in Figure 2. This combination of a p-type chalcopyrite absorber and a wide-gap n-type window layer still is the basic concept upon which current cell designs are based. The cell was prepared from a p-type CuInSe 2 (CISe) single crystal onto which a CdS film was evaporated in vacuum. The first report on chalcopyrite-based solar cell was published in 1974. Advances in preparation and efficiency have allowed these cells to be produced rapidly and are approaching market values for carbon-based energy production. Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells have the highest production among thin film technologies. Chalcopyrite-based solar modules are uniquely combining advantages of thin-film technology with the efficiency and stability of conventional crystalline silicon cells. The conversion efficiency of such cells on glass substrates is approaching 20%. Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) is one of the most promising semiconductors for the absorber-layer of thin-film solar cells. Material, manufacturing time, and weight savings are driving the increase in thin-film cells. Recently, commercial interest is beginning to shift towards thin-film cells. Furthermore, installations of silicon cells require heavy glass protection plates, which reduce residential applications.
Although silicon is a highly abundant material, it requires an energy intensive process to purify and crystallize. Silicon has been and remains the traditional solar cell material of choice. Received 7 January 2010 Revised Accepted 30 June 2010Ĭurrent trends suggest solar energy will play an important role in future energy production. School of Electronics Engineering, KIIT University, Campus-3 (Kathjodi), Patia Bhubaneswar 751024, India
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