INORGANIC-ORGANIC HYBRID ENCAPSULATION OF FLEXIBLE CU(IN, GA)SE2 MINI-MODULES

International audienceAn effective encapsulation solution is required to achieve market entry for flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) technology. In this work, we demonstrate the concept of inorganic-organic hybrid encapsulation by encapsulating 3×10 cm² CIGS/polyimide mini-modules with 25 nm Al2O3 barrier layer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in combination with back and front sheets. All mini-modules were encapsulated with a back sheet from Lenzing Plastics, while two different commercial front sheets from Feron and 3M were tested. When exposed to damp heat test, due to the presence of front encapsulation (ALD-Al2O3 and front sheet), the moisture ingress is slowed down during the first 150 h, but progressively penetrates into modules upon increasing exposure time, degrading mainly Isc. The moisture ingress imposes stringent requirements in front encapsulation of flexible CIGS/polyimide mini-modules. Studies in employing thicker ALD-Al2O3 barrier layers and/or better H2O-resistant front sheets will be carried out in the future

Advances in Cost-Efficient Thin-Film Photovoltaics Based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2

In this article, we discuss the leading thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technology based on the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) compound semiconductor. This contribution includes a general comparison with the conventional Si-wafer-based PV technology and discusses the basics of the CIGS technology as well as advances in world-record-level conversion efficiency, production, applications, stability, and future developments with respect to a flexible product. Once in large-scale mass production, the CIGS technology has the highest potential of all PV technologies for cost-efficient clean energy generation