The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Theelen ◽  
Christopher Foster ◽  
Henk Steijvers ◽  
Nicolas Barreau ◽  
Zeger Vroon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Atmospheric Species ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

The impact of atmospheric species on the degradation of CIGS solar cells and molybdenum films

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Theelen ◽  
Christopher Foster ◽  
Henk Steijvers ◽  
Nicolas Barreau ◽  
Corné Frijters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Atmospheric Species ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4545
Author(s):  
Deewakar Poudel ◽  
Shankar Karki ◽  
Benjamin Belfore ◽  
Grace Rajan ◽  
Sushma Swaraj Atluri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Indium Tin Oxide ◽  
Degradation Mechanism ◽  
Transparent Conductive Oxide ◽  
Window Layer ◽  
Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide ◽  
Copper Indium ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Secondary Ion

The impact of moisture ingress on the surface of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells was studied. While industry-scale modules are encapsulated in specialized polymers and glass, over time, the glass can break and the encapsulant can degrade. During such conditions, water can potentially degrade the interior layers and decrease performance. The first layer the water will come in contact with is the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, complete devices were immersed in deionized water. To identify the potential sources of degradation, a common window layer for CIGS devices—a bilayer of intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO) and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO)—was deposited. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. To determine the extent of ingress, dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion (predominantly sodium and potassium) in the devices. The results were compared to device measurements, and indicated a degradation of device efficiency (mostly fill factor, contrary to previous studies), potentially due to a modification of the alkali profile.

The impact of alkali elements on the degradation of CIGS solar cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Theelen ◽  
Vincent Hans ◽  
Nicolas Barreau ◽  
Henk Steijvers ◽  
Zeger Vroon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alkali Elements

Variable Light Soaking Effect of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells with Conduction Band Offset Control of Window/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Layers

2007 ◽  
Vol 1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Minemoto ◽  
Yasuhiro Hashimoto ◽  
Takuya Satoh ◽  
Takayuki Negami ◽  
Hideyuki Takakura
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Conduction Band ◽  
Buffer Layers ◽  
Window Layer ◽  
Band Offset ◽  
Conduction Band Offset ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Variable Light ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of the conduction band offset (CBO) between window/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) layers on the light soaking (LS) effect in CIGS solar cells has been studied with continuous CBO control using a (Zn,Mg)O (ZMO) window layer. Two types of CIGS solar cells with different window/buffer/absorber layers configurations were fabricated, i.e., ZMO/CIGS (without buffer layer) and ZMO/CdS/CIGS structures. The CBO values between ZMO and CIGS layers were controlled to -0.15~0.25 eV. Plus and minus signs of CBO indicate the conduction band minimums of ZMO above and below that of CIGS, respectively. Current-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the solar cells with different LS durations revealed that a positive CBO value higher than 0.16 eV induces J-V curve distortion, i.e., LS effect, and all the J-V characteristics stabilized in 30 min. The degrees of the LS effect were dominated by the CBO value between ZMO and CIGS layers in the both structure regardless of the existence of CdS buffer layers. These results indicate that the LS effect is dominated by the highest barrier for photo-generated electrons in the conduction band diagram, i.e., the CBO between ZMO and CIGS layers, and quantitatively the LS effect emerges the CBO value higher than 0.16 eV.

The impact of reducing the thickness of electrodeposited stacked Cu/In/Ga layers on the performance of CIGS solar cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 114-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Duchatelet ◽  
E. Letty ◽  
S. Jaime-Ferrer ◽  
P.-P. Grand ◽  
F. Mollica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A Modeling Study on Utilizing In2S3 as the Buffer Layer of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Based Solar Cell

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
neda beyrami ◽  
M. Saadat ◽  
zihab sohbatzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Cadmium Sulfide ◽  
Band Gap ◽  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Interfacial Layer ◽  
Optimal Performance ◽  
Indium Sulfide ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In Cu(In1 − x,Gax)Se (CIGS)-based solar cells, the cadmium sulfide (CdS) layer is conventionally used as a buffer layer. In the current study, the CdS layer was replaced by the Indium sulfide (In2S3) layer, and the impact of various concentrations of Ga in the CIGS absorber, the band gap of the In2S3 buffer layer, and the band gap of the NayCu1−yIn5S8 interfacial layer on the efficiency of these CIGS solar cells were investigated. The results indicated that in the absence of NayCu1−yIn5S8, the optimal performance was obtained with an Eg−In2S3 value of 3.1 eV and the ratio of Ga/(Ga + In) (GGI) = 1, yielding an efficiency of 21.97%. The formation of the NayCu1−yIn5S8 interfacial layer deteriorated the efficiency of the device, and the highest efficiency of the CIGS solar cells with the interfacial layer was 16.33 %.

Analysis of the combined effect of long-term heat light soaking and KF/NaF post-deposition treatment on the open-circuit voltage loss in CIGS solar cells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamidou TANGARA ◽  
Yulu He ◽  
Muhammad Monirul Islam ◽  
Shogo ISHIZUKA ◽  
Takeaki Sakurai
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Potassium Fluoride ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Nonradiative Recombination ◽  
Doping Density ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Deposition

Abstract Heat light soaking (HLS) has been known to impact the photovoltaic parameters of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells for a long time. Recently, the focus shifted to the effect of the procedure on alkali fluoride-treated CIGS. Here, we investigate the impact of long-term HLS on the open-circuit (VOC) loss in high-efficiency CIGS with potassium fluoride (KF) and sodium fluoride (NaF) post-deposition treatment (PDT). HLS is shown to increase the net doping density, however, the subsequent improvement of the VOC is lower than expected. Using an analysis based on the SQ theory, we show that HLS reduces the nonradiative recombination rate in the bulk but increases the one at the interface. We present a model to explain the increase of interface recombination. We further demonstrate that a combination of HLS and KF/NaF-PDT is necessary to enhance the positive impacts of HLS and mitigate the detrimental ones leading to high-efficiency CIGS devices (22%).

Optimization of Graded CIGS Solar Cells Using TCAD Simulations

2012 ◽  
Vol 1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mankoo Lee ◽  
Dipankar Pramanik ◽  
Haifan Liang ◽  
Ed Korczynski ◽  
Jeroen van Duren
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Back Side ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Copper Indium ◽  
Cigs Solar Cells ◽  
Interface Layers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Typical Range

ABSTRACTTo understand paths towards higher efficiency (η) for copper-indium-gallium-(sulfur)-selenide [CIG(S)Se] solar cells, we investigated a variety of absorber composition grading schemes for various back-side gallium (Ga), front-side sulfur (S), and double-graded Ga composition depth profiles in TCAD 1D/2D simulations. We fitted experimental results of a Back-Side Graded (BSG) solar cell with our TCAD models, prior to investigating other grading and interface schemes. The BSG solar cell was fabricated on a High Productivity Combinatorial (HPC™) platform based on sputtering Cu(In,Ga) followed by selenization. Our TCAD simulation methodology for optimizing CIG(S)Se solar cells started with a sensitivity analysis using 1D Solar-cell CAPacitance Simulator (SCAPS) [1] by selecting a typical range of key model parameters and analyzing the impact on η. We then used a 2D commercially-available Sentaurus simulation tool [2] to incorporate wavelength-dependent optical characteristics. As a result, we provide insight in the impact of grading schemes on efficiency for a fixed ‘material quality’ equal to an in-house BSG solar cell. We also quantify the effects of interface layers like MoSe2 at the Mo/CIG(S)Se interface, and an inverted surface layer at the CIG(S)Se/CdS interface.

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