Formation of P3 scribes in CIGS solar cells with nanosecond and picosecond pulses

In this study, we demonstrate that the P3 scribing of CIGS cells with nanosecond pulses can compete with ultrashort picosecond pulses producing very low conductivity isolation scribes. The investigation covered a wide range of laser wavelengths – from 355 nm to 2.5 µm. Additionally, P3 processing with extremely high speeds (up to 25 m/s) was investigated in CIGS cells. Results showed that heat accumulation effects occurred even in low-pulse-overlap removal of TCO layers (lift-off). Furthermore, processing at highest speeds demonstrated the deteriorated quality of P3 scribes due to ejected TCO flakes partially shielding the laser beam. Nevertheless, scribe conductivity remained low.