Changes in ohmic shunts in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 devices during damp heat

To increase the bankability of photovoltaics (PV), a more accurate prediction of the lifetime and degradation-rate of PV modules is required. In past studies, average degradation rates for different technologies have been derived from field data. However, in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) based PV, localized shunts are commonly found in modules coming out...

Potential induced degradation of CIGS PV systems: A literature review

This review paper presents an overview of studies of Potential Induced Degradation (PID) in copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaics. It reviews the observations reported in literature, the proposed origins of this high voltage-difference-driven degradation effect and the applied testing methods. Studies on cell, minimodule and...

Fundamental Mechanisms Behind the Reverse Characteristic of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

Partial shading of PV modules can lead to degradation of the shaded cells. The degradation originates from a reverse bias voltage over the shaded cells. In order to mitigate reverse bias damage in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) modules, a good understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing the reverse characteristic is required. In this study, a...

Failure mechanisms limiting the lifetime of thin film photovoltaic semi fabricates with alternative moisture barrier foils

Atmospheric spatial atomic-layer-deposition of Zn(O,S) buffer layer for flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells: From lab-scale to large area roll to roll processing

In this manuscript we present the first successful application of a spatial atomic-layer-deposition process to thin film solar cells. Zn(O,S) has been grown by spatial atomic layer deposition (S-ALD) at atmospheric pressure and applied as buffer layer in rigid and flexible CIGS cells by a lab-scale (15×15 cm2) S-ALD set-up. We achieved values of...

Atmospheric spatial atomic-layer-deposition of Zn(O, S) buffer layer for flexible Cu(In, Ga)Se2 solar cells: From lab-scale to large area roll to roll processing

In this manuscript we present the first successful application of a spatial atomic-layer-deposition process to thin film solar cells. Zn(O,S) has been grown by spatial atomic layer deposition (S-ALD) at atmospheric pressure and applied as buffer layer in rigid and flexible CIGS cells by a lab-scale (15x15 cm2) S-ALD set-up. We achieved values of...