ANR project
Selective, passivated and transparent contact for CIGS solar cells
Dates:
October 2021 – March 2025
Project coordinator:
Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies (C2N Palaiseau)
Partner laboratories :
- IMN
- Ile-de-France Photovoltaic Institute (UMR-IPVF Palaiseau)
- Glass surface and interface (SVI Aubervilliers)
IMN staff involved:
Nicolas BARREAU, Ludovic ARZEL, Lionel ASSMANN), Isabelle BRAEMS, Sylvie HAREL, Thomas LEPETIT
CuInGaSe2 solar cells are expected to reach a global market of $8.5 billion by 2024. Record efficiency (23.4%) is achieved with a 2.5 µm absorber deposited on molybdenum (Mo). Increasing efficiency and reducing absorber thickness are current industry priorities. Major improvements are expected by replacing the Mo back contact. We propose to develop a new selective, transparent and passivated back contact based on metal oxides and compatible with industrial manufacturing processes. Our preliminary results show the compatibility of this approach with a backside mirror. We are targeting (1) an ultra-thin CuInGaSe2-based solar cell (400 nm, 20%) (2) a semi-transparent CuInGaSe2-based solar cell (10%), (3) as a preliminary step towards a tandem on Si, a large-gap CuInGaS2-based solar cell (15%) directly deposited on Si via this new contact.
