Optimization of composition grading in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 for flexible solar cells and modules

For the development of high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) flexible solar cells on polymer films with efficient and robust deposition process the so-called three-stage evaporation processes were modified. CIGS layers were grown by co-evaporation of constituent elements at low substrate temperature compatible with the stability of the polyimide film. The CIGS layers grown with our standard process are compositionally graded, especially the Ga has a strong grading profile across the layer thickness. Different variations of the standard evaporation process were investigated, especially in view of changing the energy band gap profiles in the absorber layer for achieving further improvements in high efficiency solar cells. Further on, the incorporation of sodium during the CIGS deposition was optimized. Structural and chemical composition properties of CIGS layers were characterized with SEM, XRF, SIMS and the photovoltaic properties were characterized with I–V and quantum efficiency measurements. A flexible CIGS solar cell on polyimide film with a record efficiency of 17.6% has been developed.