Improved CIGS Solar Cell Efficiency

A CIGS/perovskite tandem solar cell with enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness, achieved through the use of nanorod-based CIGS absorber layers and a monolithic tandem structure. The CIGS nanorods are fabricated using a high-angle deposition technique, exhibiting superior optical absorption compared to conventional thin films. The tandem structure is formed by directly depositing perovskite layers onto the CIGS nanorod absorber, with a CdS buffer layer and SnO2 electron transport layer. The device demonstrates high efficiency values, exceeding 15% for rigid substrates and 10% for flexible substrates, while maintaining a low cost and enabling mass production on flexible polyimide substrates.

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Bifacial thin-film solar cell with enhanced rear-side performance through a novel interface engineering approach. The cell features a rear passivation layer of TiOx or TaOx between the rear transparent electrode and the CIGS absorber layer, which reduces interfacial recombination and enhances carrier transport. A conductive thin film pattern is selectively formed on the rear passivation layer to create ohmic contact between the absorber layer and the rear electrode. This design enables efficient carrier collection on both the front and rear sides of the cell, achieving improved bifacial performance.

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A tandem solar cell with improved efficiency, comprising a thin-film solar cell and a bottom cell stacked in a first direction. The bottom cell includes a transparent conductive layer, a doped conductive layer, an intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, a substrate, a second doped conductive layer, and electrodes. The transparent conductive layer is between the thin-film solar cell and the doped conductive layer, and the electrodes are formed on the second doped conductive layer. The doped conductive layer includes a doped amorphous silicon layer or a doped microcrystalline silicon layer. The bottom cell has a complete back structure, eliminating metal-semiconductor contact and reducing contact recombination between the cells.

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A thin-film solar cell structure and manufacturing process that improves efficiency by introducing a hole transport structure between the back electrode and absorber layers. The structure comprises a p-type semiconductor hole transport layer and a metal oxide stabilizing layer that blocks diffusion of the hole transport layer during high-temperature processing. The stabilizing layer is formed on top of the hole transport layer, which is directly deposited on the back electrode layer. This double-layer structure provides thermal stability and passivation effects similar to conventional Ga grading, enabling high-efficiency thin-film solar cells.

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Enhancing the bifacial efficiency of thin-film photovoltaic devices through the use of specific bifacial enhancement layers. These layers are positioned closer to the back interface of the absorber layer compared to the front interface, and they selectively absorb light with wavelengths below a specific cutoff frequency. The enhanced absorption of shorter wavelengths enables increased quantum efficiency compared to standard bifacial photovoltaic devices, where the enhancement layer is positioned closer to the front interface.

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The highly efficient CIGS thin-film solar cell is numerically investigated in this paper using solar simulator software wxAMPS (Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures). WxAMPS is a customized simulation software package mainly used for photovoltaic cells, which supports quick data input and enhanced visualization with its improved user interface. Copperindiumgalliumdiselenide Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) is a semiconductor material with chalcopyrite crystal structure that has high conversion efficiency and structural stability. CIGS model- ZnO: Al/ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/substrate is mainly experimental research that considers the physical characteristics, dimensions, and thicknesses of the different layers. The bilayer window and absorber layer with different thicknesses are the critical factors that influence solar cell performance. The bilayer window concept can assist in reducing the loss at the window layer. In this paper, through the numerical simulation, the highest conversion efficiency was achieved, 18.7%, with an optimum bandgap of 1.12 eV with 3000 nm thickness of the abso... Read More

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Flexible CIGS solar cells, with their adjustable band gap for future flexible tandem solar cells and flexibility for roll-to-roll manufacturing, have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications. However, flexible CIGS solar cells are always manufactured at relatively low temperatures, where Cu diffusion has a substantial impact on the CIGS surface state and defect formation. To address these issues, we designed a new CIGS growth profile in this work by carefully examining the effects of different locations of excess Cu in the third stage of the CIGS deposition profile. The results showed that adding more Cu to the middle part of the third stage can enhance the crystal quality, expand the GGI grading notch region, move the GGI minimum to the CdS side, cause a

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Optimizing solar cell design is vital for boosting efficiency, cutting production costs, and meeting the increasing demand for renewable energy solutions. Through meticulous adjustments in material compositions and device architectures, optimization enhances energy conversion efficiency, making solar power more competitive and adaptable across various applications. This article presents the optimization and efficiency enhancement of a ZnO/CdS/CIGS solar cell with GaAs. The optimization process utilizes the particle swarm optimization algorithm with a stepbystep approach. Solar cells are designed using SCAPS1D software, and optimization is performed using Python. The optimized ZnO/CdS/CIGS solar cell achieves an efficiency of 32.4%, which rises to 44.7% upon integrating a GaAs layer. Further efficiency gains are observed, reaching 53.2% through back contact optimization, providing a power density of 54 mW cm 2 . Optimization also notices a significant improvement in quantum efficiency. The cells are tested under concentrated solar irradiance (100010 000 W m 2 ) and temperatures ... Read More

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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, high-efficiency, 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 (to... Read More

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A heterojunction solar cell with improved efficiency, comprising a textured semiconductor substrate layer, a P-type amorphous silicon layer, an intrinsic amorphous silicon layer, and an N-type amorphous silicon layer. The intrinsic layer is a composite structure comprising a bottom intrinsic layer and a wide-band-gap intrinsic layer, with the wide-band-gap layer having a bandgap greater than the bottom layer. The cell exhibits enhanced light trapping and reduced parasitic absorption, resulting in improved conversion efficiency.

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This research designed and simulated CIGS/CIGS back-to-back solar cells using Silvaco-Atlas software. We considered CIGS absorbing layer thickness and sub-cells as critical parameters to optimize the performance of the CIGS/CIGS tandem solar cell. The research comparatively examined the effect of different electrode metals, such as molybdenum, aluminum, titanium, and silver, on the efficiency. The electrical parameters of the best CIGS/CIGS tandem solar cell configuration were a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 15.65 mA/cm, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.86 V, a fill factor (FF) of 86.04%, and a conversion efficiency () of 27.12%. The optimal CIGS absorbing layer thickness of the top and bottom cells corresponding to the maximum conversion efficiency obtained were 0.17 and 6.3 m, respectively. In contrast, the optimal thickness of the Cds layer was 0.04 m. Silver had the best performance in connecting layers between several metals. The results can be used to develop low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells.

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There is a significant amount of research in the literature concerning the performance of solar panels operating during outdoor exposure, but the full topic is not yet exhausted. One of the reasons is that the photovoltaic cell technology is constantly evolving. In this paper, a comparison of two types of CdTe and CIGS modules operated with a nominal power of 80 W and 140 W, respectively is studied. The module tests were performed under external conditions during autumn, winter, spring, and summer from October 2019 to July 2020 in the temperate climate of Mikinia, South Poland. The photovoltaic panels were connected to the electric grid via microinverters. During the tests, the temperature of the panels was monitored. To determine the influence of solar radiation on the energy conversion efficiency of photovoltaic panels, a pyranometer installed in the plane of the panels was used. Based on the monitoring of the atmospheric conditions and the measurement of instantaneous power, the efficiency of the modules is determined.

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Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells are recognized as next-generation space technology due to their flexibility, lightweight nature, and excellent environmental stability.

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Copper-indium-gallium diselenide (CuInGaSe2) or CIGS is one of the most promising materials for thin film solar cell applications. CIGS solar cells were deposited by sputtering method on ZnO/ZnS/CIGS/Mo arrays. Various parameters in sputtering greatly influence the efficiency of CIGS solar cells such as temperature. Thermal parameters are used to compare the effect of the CIGS layer on optimizing the efficiency of CIGS solar cells. The results show that the CIGS layer deposited using temperature has a crystalline structure, besides that the resulting efficiency is also higher than CIGS solar cells deposited without temperature, namely 0.177%.

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Solar cells have attracted much attention, for they can convert solar energy directly into electric energy, and have been widely utilized in manufacturing industry and peoples daily life. Although the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of single-junction solar cells has gradually improved in recent years, its maximum efficiency is still limited by the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit of single-junction solar cells. To exceed the SQ limit and further obtain high-efficiency solar cells, the concept of tandem solar cells has been proposed. In this work, the chalcopyrite CuGaSe<sub>2</sub>/CuInSe<sub>2</sub> tandem solar cells are studied systematically in theory by combining first-principle calculations and SCAPS-1D device simulations. Firstly, the electronic structure, defect properties and corresponding macroscopic performance parameters of CuGaSe<sub>2</sub> (CGS) are obtained by first-principles calculations, and are used as input parameters for subsequent device simulations of CGS solar cells. Then, the single-junction CGS and CuInSe<sub>2</... Read More

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This study comprehensively evaluates the efficacy of solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations taking into account key metrics such as annual EV charging capacity, monthly fluctuations in energy generation, investment costs, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions achievable. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13, this novel case work employs a comparative modeling approach to evaluate and optimize the performance of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels based on performance ratio (PR), panel sizing and unused energy metrics across six diverse Indian cities. The result data revealed that the 8.1 kWp system for both CIGS and CdTe achieved peak PR while concurrently registering the least energy deficit due to wasted power across all investigated locations. On a monthly basis, CIGS panels produced an average of 1242.6 kWh during the summer months, surpassing the CdTe panels by a 1.50% relative increase in energy output. Annual analysis of energy production revealed that the CIGS modules in Kochi generated... Read More

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Optimizing solar cells design is vital for boosting efficiency and cutting production costs, meeting the increasing demand for renewable energy solutions. Through meticulous adjustments in material compositions and device architectures, optimization enhances energy conversion efficiency, making solar power more competitive and adaptable across various applications. This paper presents the optimization and efficiency enhancement of a ZnO/CdS/CIGS solar cell with GaAs. The optimization process utilizes the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm with a step-by-step approach. Solar cells are designed using SCAPS-1D software, and optimization is performed using Python. The optimized ZnO/CdS/CIGS solar cell achieves an efficiency of 32.4%, which rises to 44.7% upon integrating a GaAs layer. Further efficiency gains are observed, reaching 53.2% through back contact optimization, providing a power density of 54 mW/cm2 . Optimization also notices a significant improvement in quantum efficiency. The cells are tested under concentrated solar irradiance (1000 to 10000 W/m2 ) and temperatures (300... Read More

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Thin-film solar cell devices are gradually picking up in the commercial renewable energy space due to their lower energy payback period. CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) based solar cells are one of the major contenders due to their higher conversion efficiency. Bandgap tuning through Ga grading if CIGS solar cells are one of the proven methods to improve its performance parameters. To increase the overall quantum efficiency of the device front grading (FG) i.e. stacking up the high band gap top layer followed by lower band gap bottom layer is used. To alleviate the intrinsic issue of minority carrier recombination in FG CIGS the use of p-Si and MoTe <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> as BSF(back surface field) contact have been evaluated. The MoTe <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> as an interfacial and BSF layer has been proposed. To solve dual issues of inter-layer elemental inter-diffusion during high temperature annealing and to restrict mi... Read More

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CIGSe thin film solar cells have been fascinating in the photovoltaic field due to their potential to get high conversion efficiencies at an attractive cost. The properties of the materials used in solar cells must be optimized to improve the efficiency. Here, SCAPS is utilized to simulate the CIGSe thin film solar cells. First, the material properties (i.e., thickness, bandgap, carrier concentration) of CIGSe, CdS, ZnO, and ZnO:Al are analyzed for the optimization process. The optimized efficiency of 27.32% is achieved for the CIGSe thin film solar cell. Then the effect of defect density and carrier capture cross section in CIGSe, CdS, and CdS/CIGSe interface on the performance of CIGSe thin film solar cell is reviewed. It is found that the higher the defects in the device lower the device's performance. This decrement in the efficiency is due to the decrease in the diffusion length of charge carriers by enhancing the recombination centers for them, preventing the collection of charge carriers, and finally degrading the device performance. This theoretical study can guide as a roadm... Read More

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A composite film made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires for use as the hole transport layer in gallium arsenide-based heterojunction solar cells. The composite film provides high conductivity and efficient carrier separation at the interface between the carbon nanotubes and gallium arsenide layers. It is prepared by mixing carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires in a dispersion to avoid agglomeration, and then spin coating the composite onto the solar cell. The composite film has high light transmittance to avoid sacrificing solar absorption. It reduces resistance between layers without sacrificing light transmittance, accelerates carrier separation, and improves solar cell efficiency.

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