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- Edoff, Marika, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Ultrathin CIGS Solar Cells with Passivated and Highly Reflective Back Contacts – : Results from the ARCIGS-M Consortium
- 2019
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In: Proceedings of 36th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition. ; , s. 597-600
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this work, we report results from the EU-funded project ARCIGS-M. The project started in 2016 and aims to reduce the use of indium and gallium by enabling the use of very thin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) layers while retaining high efficiency and developing innovative low-cost steel substrates as alternatives to glass. In the project, reflective layers containing TCO´s and silver have successfully been used to enhance the reflective properties of the rear contact. In addition, passivation layers based on alumina (Al2O3) deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have been found to yield good passivation of the rear contact. Since the alumina layers are dielectric, perforation of these layers is necessary to provide adequate contacting. The design of the perforation patterns has been investigated by a combination of modeling and experimental verification by electron beam lithography. In parallel a nano-imprint lithography (NIL) process is further developed for scale-up and application in prototype modules. Advanced optoelectrical characterization supported by modeling is used to fill in the missing gaps in optical and electrical properties, regarding CIGS, interfaces and back contact materials.
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- Anacleto, Pedro, et al.
(author)
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Precisely nanostructured HfO2 rear passivation layers for ultra-thin Cu(In,Ga)Se-2
- 2022
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In: Progress in Photovoltaics. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1062-7995 .- 1099-159X. ; 30:11, s. 1289-1297
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The quest for material-efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells encourages the development of ultra-thin absorbers. Their use reduces material consumption and energy usage during production by increasing the throughput. Thereby, both the bill of materials as well as the energy and capital costs are reduced. However, because thin absorbers are prone to increase back contact recombination, back surface passivation schemes are necessary to reach a similar or higher conversion efficiency than for absorbers with conventional thickness. Here, we investigate nanostructured hafnium oxide (HfO2) rear passivation layers for ultra-thin CIGS solar cells. We fabricate regular arrays of point contacts with 200 nm diameter through HfO2 layers with thicknesses between 7 and 40 nm using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. The current-voltage curves of solar cells with a 500 nm thick CIGS absorber layer and the nanostructured passivation layer show improved performance concerning V-oc and J(sc) compared to non-passivated reference devices. Furthermore, external quantum efficiency and optical reflection confirm an effective passivation behavior, with an average efficiency increase of up to 1.2% for the cells with the 40 nm thick HfO2 layer. In addition, simulation work shows that even 40 nm thick HfO2 passivation layers have only a minimal effect on the optical properties of ultra-thin CIGS solar cells, and hence, the photocurrent increase verified experimentally stems from electrical improvements caused by the HfO2 layer passivation effect. We also investigate the impact of ultra-thin (0.3, 0.6, 1.3, and 2.5 nm) non-patterned HfO2 passivation layers on the same type of solar cells. However, these results showed no improvement in solar cell performance, despite an increase in the current density with layer thickness.
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