DOE Makes Thin-Film Solar Cells More Competitive With Silicon
March 28, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell reached 19.9% efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell.
Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3%. The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity.
CIGS cells use extremely thin layers of semiconductor material applied to a low-cost backing such as glass, flexible metallic foils, high-temperature polymers or stainless steel sheets.
Thin-film cells require less energy to make and can be fabricated by a variety of processes.
According to DOE, thin-film cells provide a promising path for providing more affordable solar cells for residential and other uses. The CIGS cells are of interest for space applications and the portable electronics market because of their light weight.
They are also suitable in special architectural uses, such as photovoltaic roof shingles, windows, siding and others.
Researchers were able to set the world record because of improvements in the quality of the material applied during the manufacturing process, boosting the power output from the cell, said DOE NREL Senior Scientist Miguel Contreras.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).