Article
Energy & Fuels
Jake Wands, Ana Kanevce, Alexandra Bothwell, Michael F. Miller, Stefan Paetel, Aaron R. Arehart, Angus Rockett
Summary: Rubidium fluoride postdeposition treatment has been shown to improve the performance of CIGS photovoltaic devices. The treatment decreases the energy of bandtails and increases the minority carrier lifetime, leading to an improved open-circuit voltage.
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Christopher P. Muzzillo, Stephen Glynn, Glenn Teeter, Lorelle M. Mansfield
Summary: This study investigates the effect of KF post-deposition treatments (PDTs) on the performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells using air-free transfer of multiple samples. The results show that KF PDTs can improve cell efficiency, enhance minority carrier lifetime, and modify the alignment of the surface valence band.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ricardo G. Poeira, Ana Perez-Rodriguez, Aubin J. C. M. Prot, Marina Alves, Phillip J. Dale, Sascha Sadewasser
Summary: Micro-concentrator photovoltaics combine light concentration and low electrical losses to improve efficiency. A novel approach to produce arrays of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 micro absorber layers is demonstrated in this work, with a proof of principle of micro solar cells achieving an efficiency of 1.2% under 1 Sun. This presents a new material-efficient synthesis route for the fabrication of micro solar cells.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Romain Scaffidi, Dilara G. Buldu, Guy Brammertz, Jessica de Wild, Thierry Kohl, Gizem Birant, Marc Meuris, Jef Poortmans, Denis Flandre, Bart Vermang
Summary: The passivation effects of Al2O3 and HfO2 at the interface with CIGS in thin-film solar cells were investigated. A trade-off was found between stronger field-effect for HfO2 and lower interface-trap density for Al2O3. An innovative Al2O3/HfO2 multistack design was proposed and demonstrated effective chemical passivation, potentially increasing efficiency in CIGS solar cells.
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI A-APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Pedro Santos, Daniel Brito, Pedro Anacleto, Jose Fonseca, Diana de Brito Sousa, Carlos J. Tavares, Jose Virtuoso, Marina Alves, Ana Perez-Rodriguez, Sascha Sadewasser
Summary: This study investigates the impact of copper stoichiometry on the grain size of sputtered CIGSe absorbers and the efficiency of solar cells. It was found that using a Cu-rich target for sputtering CIGSe films results in larger grain size and better solar cell performance. Additionally, a two-stage process was introduced to further enhance solar cell performance by eliminating unwanted impurities and avoiding toxic etching processes.
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jake Wands, Alexandra Bothwell, Polyxeni Tsoulka, Thomas Lepetit, Nicolas Barreau, Angus Rockett
Summary: Alkali halide postdeposition treatments (PDTs) are important for enhancing the efficiency of CIGS photovoltaics. RbF PDTs have emerged as an alternative to commonly used Na- and K-based techniques. This study investigates the effects of a unique RbF PDT performed in a S atmosphere using temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements. The results show that the RbF + S treated sample has a higher contact barrier and series resistance, resulting in decreased current and lower fill factor compared to the reference sample. However, the reference sample experiences a larger decrease in open-circuit voltage after aging.
ADVANCED ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Pedro Santos, Pedro Anacleto, Daniel Brito, Shilpi Shital, Ricardo G. Poeira, Alice Debot, Phillip J. Dale, Sascha Sadewasser
Summary: This study presents a method for fabricating micro-structured semi-transparent Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGSe) solar cells using lithography and wet etch techniques. By selectively etching an opaque CIGSe solar cell with bromine and bleach solutions, a segmented micro-structured solar cell with transparent spaces was obtained. The CIGSe solar cell lines achieved a high power conversion efficiency of 12.4% for 1000 mu m width, demonstrating potential for building integrated CIGSe photovoltaics as windows.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Woo-Ju Kim, Dae-Hyung Cho, Sung-Hoon Hong, Woo-Jung Lee, Tae-Ha Hwang, Joo Yeon Kim, Yong -Duck Chung
Summary: With the increasing use of building-integrated photovoltaic technology, diffractive nanostructures are used to create colorful solar cells that blend in with their surroundings. Various colors are produced on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells using nanoscale imprinting and transfer lithography methods. The material types and pattern shapes of the nanostructures have an impact on the optical properties of the solar cells. SiO2 demonstrates higher short-circuit current density (JSC) and color quality compared to TiO2.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Natalia M. Martin, Tobias Torndahl, Erik Wallin, Konstantin A. Simonov, Hakan Rensmo, Charlotte Platzer-Bjorkman
Summary: The study investigates the impact of postdeposition treatments on ACIGS solar cell performance, finding that different alkali metal fluoride treatments can modify the surface composition of the ACIGS absorber layer, thereby influencing device behavior.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Aldo Kingma, Frideriki Naziris, Louis Gersant-Poulain, Remi Aninat, Klaas Bakker, Marcel Simor, Mirjam Theelen
Summary: To enhance the bankability of photovoltaics, it is necessary to accurately predict the lifetime and degradation rate of PV modules. This study demonstrates that localized ohmic shunts in CIGS-based PV modules can partially or completely recover when exposed to elevated temperatures and humidity. These findings highlight the importance of regular visual inspection and luminescence testing in quality control.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qing Gao, Chun Cao, Jianping Ao, Jinlian Bi, Liyong Yao, Jiajia Guo, Guozhong Sun, Wei Liu, Yi Zhang, Fangfang Liu, Wei Li
Summary: The efficiency of CIGSe solar cells was successfully increased by spin-coating an In2S3 thin film on the CIGSe surface in this study. By adjusting the thickness of In2S3 film, the surface bandgap was effectively increased, leading to improved device performance.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Bing Li, Aimei Zhao, Dongmei Xiang, Zhuo Peng, Yujie Yuan, Yupeng Xing, Liyong Yao, Jinlian Bi, Wei Li
Summary: In this study, an Ag buffer layer was used to eliminate the nonuniform distribution of Cu on Mo, resulting in improved crystallinity and performance of ACIGSe absorber and solar cells.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Melike Babucci, Debora M. Meira, Erik Wallin, Jan Keller, Olivier Donzel-Gargand, Charlotte Platzer Bjorkman, Natalia M. Martin
Summary: Alloying CIGS solar cell absorber with silver can improve the performance of thin-film solar cells by increasing the optical band gap and open-circuit voltage. By using angle-resolved XAS and other measurement techniques, it is found that the local atomic arrangement of ACIGS absorbers with varying Ag content and Ga depth gradient deviates from the long-range crystallographic structure, which may affect the electronic properties of solar cells.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xinxing Liu, Junjun Zhang, Liting Tang, Junbo Gong, Wang Li, Zengyang Ma, Zexin Tu, Yanyan Li, Ruiming Li, Xuzhi Hu, Chen Shen, He Wang, Zhiping Wang, Qianqian Lin, Guojia Fang, Sheng Wang, Chang Liu, Zengming Zhang, Jianmin Li, Xudong Xiao
Summary: By incorporating Cl and conducting surface treatment for the CsFAPb(IBr)(3) system, this study successfully reduced defect densities and significantly improved open-circuit voltage and power conversion efficiency in PSCs. Integration of a highly efficient 1.67 eV PSC top cell with various bandgap CIGS solar cells resulted in a calculated tandem efficiency of 28.4%, currently the highest for PSC/CIGS tandem cells. The findings pave the way for highly efficient monolithic two-terminal PSC/CIGS tandem devices in the future.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yunae Cho, Jiseon Hwang, Inyoung Jeong, Jihye Gwak, Jae Ho Yun, Kihwan Kim, William Jo
Summary: This study investigated the transport mechanism of photogenerated carriers in CIGS solar cells by analyzing temperature-dependent current density-voltage curves, revealing that the distortion of J-V curves is closely related to the illumination wavelength and persistent characteristics of the solar cell. Additionally, photo capacitance results showed distinct spatial distributions and behaviors under different illumination conditions.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2021)
