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A 21.5% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin‐film concentrator solar cell
Author(s) -
Ward J.S.,
Ramanathan K.,
Hasoon F.S.,
Coutts T. J.,
Keane J.,
Contreras M.A.,
Moriarty T.,
Noufi R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.424
Subject(s) - suns in alchemy , open circuit voltage , copper indium gallium selenide solar cells , solar cell , short circuit , materials science , optoelectronics , concentrator , voltage , thin film , thin film solar cell , layer (electronics) , solar cell efficiency , evaporation , window (computing) , energy conversion efficiency , optics , electrical engineering , composite material , nanotechnology , engineering , computer science , physics , thermodynamics , operating system
Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells have been designed for operation under mildly concentrated sunlight. The absorber was deposited via a three‐stage evaporation process that has consistently yielded high‐performance one‐sun devices. The device structure reported here was modified by reducing the thickness of the CdS window/buffer layer to enhance the short‐circuit current at the expense of the open‐circuit voltage. Operation of the devices under optical enhancement leads to significant increases in the voltage and fill factor. At 14 suns, the open‐circuit voltage for this device was 736 mV, the fill factor was 80.5%, and the efficiency was 21.5%. This result represents the first report of a polycrystalline thin‐film solar cell with an efficiency in excess of 20%. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.