Development of multijunction thin film solar cells

Author

Seyrling, S. ; Bücheler, S. ; Chirila, A. ; Perrenoud, J. ; Wenger, S. ; Nakada, T. ; Grätzel, M. ; Tiwari, A.N.

Author_Institution

Lab. for Thin Films & Photovoltaics, Empa - Swiss Fed. Labs. for Mater. Testing & Res., Dubendorf, Switzerland

fYear

2009

fDate

7-12 June 2009

Abstract

Due to the possibility of band gap engineering in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) absorbers and the spectral tunability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with suitable choice of the sensitizer, this combination of solar cells could be ideal for the construction of dual junction photovoltaic devices. Factors for performance limitations of mechanically stacked tandem cells have been identified and alternative remedies are developed to overcome efficiency losses. Limiting factors of the efficiency have been determined. In a monolithical configuration, the issue of corrosion of the CIGS cell caused by exposure to the DSC electrolyte has been investigated.

Keywords

copper compounds; corrosion; electrolytes; gallium compounds; indium compounds; semiconductor thin films; solar cells; ternary semiconductors; CIGS absorbers; CuInGaSe₂; DSC electrolyte; band gap engineering; corrosion; dual junction photovoltaic devices; dye sensitized solar cells; mechanically stacked tandem cells; monolithical configuration; multijunction thin film solar cells; spectral tunability; Chemical engineering; Current density; Fabrication; Glass; Laboratories; Materials testing; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Thin film devices; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2009 34th IEEE

Conference_Location

Philadelphia, PA

ISSN

0160-8371

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-2949-3

Electronic_ISBN

0160-8371

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2009.5411607

Filename

5411607