Accelerated publication 16.4% total-area conversion efficiency thin-film polycrystalline MgF2/ZnO/CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se2/Mo solar cell

This communication reports an MgF₂/ZnO/CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂/Mo/glass polycrystalline solar cell with a confirmed total-area conversion efficiency of 16.4%. the thin-film Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ absorber was fabricated by computer-controlled physical vapor deposition (PVD) from the elemental sources. the resulting absorber has a Gal/In compositional grading that we refer to as a notch. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements also reveal a graded doping profile in the region near the electronic p-n junction. the enhanced device performance is characterized by an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 660 mV and a particularly high fill factor (FF) of 78.7%.     

Accelerated publication 17.1% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based thin-film solar cell

We report a world-record, total-area efficiency of 17.1% for a polycrystalline thin-film Cu(In,Ga)Se₂-based photovoltaic solar cell. the incorporation of Ga to raise the absorber bandgap has been accomplished successfully and in such a manner that an open-circuit voltage of 654 mV and a fill factor of greater than 77% have been achieved. We describe briefly the deposition process, the device structure, and the device performance characteristics.