Degradation behavior of CIGS solar Cells: A parametric analysis

Jahandardoost, Mohsen; Walkons, Curtis; Bansal, Shubhra

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2023.05.052

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 38 publications

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“…In contrast, a ZnMgO buffer with a wide bandgap of at least 3.3 eV, depending on the ratio of Zn and Mg, can effectively reduce the parasitic absorption loss in the short-wavelength region when applied to IZO/microgrid hybrid electrode-based CIGS solar cells. To develop a highly efficient CIGS solar cell with ZnMgO buffer layer, the conduction band offset between ZnMgO and CIGS should be designed within 0–0.3 eV. − The CIGS absorber with a Ga grading profile, shown in Figure S6, was fabricated to optimize the conduction band offset between ZnMgO and CIGS, and ZnMgO with a thickness of 50 nm and the Zn-to-Mg ratio shown in Figure S7 was deposited through an atomic-layer deposition (ALD) process. The photovoltaic characteristics of the CIGS solar cells based on the ZnMgO and CdS buffer layers were compared by applying a microgrid electrode with 1500 μm spacing (optimized grid spacing in Figure b), and the photovoltaic properties of the two devices were measured.…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable CIGS Solar Cells Employing a New Device Design of Nontoxic Buffer Layer and Microgrid Electrode

Hwang,

Lee,

Lee

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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The efficiency of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells that use transparent conductive oxide (TCO) as the top electrode decreases significantly as the device area increases owing to the poor electrical properties of TCO. Therefore, highefficiency, large-area CIGS solar cells require the development of a novel top electrode with high transmittance and conductivity. In this study, a microgrid/TCO hybrid electrode is designed to minimize the optical and resistive losses that may occur in the top electrode of a CIGS solar cell. In addition, the buffer layer of the CIGS solar cells is changed from the conventional CdS buffer to a dry-processed wide-band gap ZnMgO (ZMO) buffer, resulting in increased device efficiency by minimizing parasitic absorption in the short-wavelength region. By optimizing the combination of ZMO buffer and the microgrid/TCO hybrid electrode, a device efficiency of up to 20.5% (with antireflection layers) is achieved over a small device area of 5 mm × 5 mm (total area). Moreover, CIGS solar cells with an increased device area of up to 20 mm × 70 mm (total area) exhibit an efficiency of up to 19.7% (with antireflection layers) when a microgrid/TCO hybrid electrode is applied. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential for highefficiency, large-area CIGS solar cells with novel microgrid electrodes.

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Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable CIGS Solar Cells Employing a New Device Design of Nontoxic Buffer Layer and Microgrid Electrode

Hwang,

Lee,

Lee

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Impact of agricultural atmospheric pollutants on the opto‐electrical performance of CIGS solar cells

Debono,

Fikree,

Julien

et al. 2024

Progress in Photovoltaics

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The reliability of CIGS solar systems in agricultural environments was investigated using an accelerated aging test. Both complete cells and representative stacks of selected layers and interfaces were exposed to humidity and temperature variations for 9 to 14 days with and without ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, an aerosol pollutant representative of agricultural activities. The performance evolution of complete cells was evaluated by J‐V curves and EQE measurements. After 9 days, the presence of (NH4)2SO4 led to a performance loss of 58%, significantly higher than the 37% loss observed without pollutants. Using computer calculations based on the two‐diode model, it was possible to de‐correlate some interactions between J‐V parameters. The results of modeling suggested that the pollutant caused optical losses and conductivity loss of electrical contacts, presumably by corrosion. Sheet resistance and Hall effect measurements on the representative stacks of layers confirmed that the conductivity loss of ZnO:Al (AZO) after 14 days of aging strongly impacted the cell performance, this phenomenon being even more severe in the presence of (NH4)2SO4. The conductivity of Mo remained significantly less affected by aging both with and without pollutants. The NiAlNi contacts after aging with (NH4)2SO4 became so resistive that measurement was impossible. Corroborating modeling and experimental results, the drop in Jsc was attributed to the loss of the interference fringes in the AZO rather than to the loss of optical transmittance. Finally, aging without pollutants mostly impacted Voc and Rsh due to the formation of shunt paths.

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Machine learning-assisted investigation of CIGS thin-film solar cell degradation using deep learning analysis

Maoucha,

Berghout,

Djeffal

et al. 2024

Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids

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Degradation behavior of CIGS solar Cells: A parametric analysis

Cited by 4 publications

References 38 publications

Scalable CIGS Solar Cells Employing a New Device Design of Nontoxic Buffer Layer and Microgrid Electrode

Scalable CIGS Solar Cells Employing a New Device Design of Nontoxic Buffer Layer and Microgrid Electrode

Impact of agricultural atmospheric pollutants on the opto‐electrical performance of CIGS solar cells

Machine learning-assisted investigation of CIGS thin-film solar cell degradation using deep learning analysis

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