Towards the development of flexible CIGS solar cells on polymer films with efficiency exceeding 15%

Development of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (called CIGS) solar cells on polymers is challenging because of the thermo-physical properties of layers and substrates. CIGS layers of suitable structural and opto-electronic properties should be grown at low temperature (< 500°C) as polyimides tend to degrade at higher deposition temperatures. Additionally, a method for controlled incorporation of an optimum amount of Na in CIGS is needed for high-efficiency cells since polyimides do not contain Na. Solar cells were developed on commercially available Upilex foils. CIGS layers were grown by evaporation of elemental Cu, In, Ga and Se at different substrate temperatures. Na from a NaF film was incorporated into CIGS layers with a post-deposition diffusion method that is suitable for in-line production of solar cells. Independent measurements have confirmed 14.1% efficiency under simulated AM1.5 standard test conditions. This is the highest efficiency reported to date for any kind of solar cell grown on polymer films. An average reflectance loss of about 13% was measured for these cells. Application of a commonly used anti-reflection coating would enable more than 15% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cells on polyimide foils.