The efficiency of the flexible CIGS solar cell has been improved. Free Technical Library News

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Improved efficiency of flexible CIGS solar cell

13.10.2022

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have achieved a world record efficiency of 22,2% for a flexible copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) solar cell on polyimide plastic film.

The German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) confirmed the results. As of September 2021, the cell efficiency was 21,4%.

The device was fabricated by low-temperature compatible evaporation to grow a light-absorbing CIGS semiconductor thin film.

"The current improvement in efficiency is due to doping the light-absorbing semiconductor layer to improve its electronic properties," the research team said.

The solar cell has been developed by a research group over the past 23 years. Their "record path" began in 1999 with an efficiency of 12,8%, which then increased to 14,1% (2005), 17,6% (2010), 18,7% (2011) and 20,4% (2013) and finally reached 20,8% (2019), 21,4% last year.

"The flexible and lightweight solar modules resulting from this technology are particularly suitable for applications on rooftops and facades of buildings, greenhouses, vehicles, airships and portable electronic devices," said Ayodhya Tiwari, head of the Thin Film and Photovoltaics Laboratory.

By the way, the Japanese company Solar Frontier has achieved by far the highest efficiency among CIGS solar cells - 23,35%. German manufacturer of thin-film modules Avancis achieved the highest solar panel efficiency of 19,64%.

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