Photovoltaics (PV) are an important alternative energy source and are rapidly becoming an important player in the future clean energy. Silicon (Si) is the most advanced PV material, and Si-based modules dominate the PV market worldwide. However, achieving high energy efficiency from thin film solar cells with low cost potential has significantly increased the research and commercialization activities carried out in this area over the past decade. Copper-based I - II - VI2 composite semiconductor materials such as Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and Cu (In,Ga)(Se,S)2 has been extensively studied because of their high absorption coefficient, manufactured by depositing on a flexible substrate and ease of manufacturing. In studies performed so far, a 23.3% efficieny was obtained from CIGS cells in laboratory scale [1]. In addition, the annual production volume of CIGS and CIGSS based PV modules has been reported to be approximately 1 GW.
Researchers: Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz ATASOY
Assist. Prof. Dr. Filiz KELEŞ
References
[1] Green, M. A., Dunlop, E. D., Hohl‐Ebinger, J., Yoshita, M., Kopidakis, N. & Ho‐Baillie, A. W., Solar cell efficiency tables (version 55), Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 28(3), 3-15, (2020).
[2] R. Noufi, K. Zweibel, High Efficiency CdTe and CIGS Thin Film Solar Cells, NREL Commun, DOI (2006).