Title :
Pilot line production of CIGS modules: first experiences in processing and further developments
Author :
Powalla, M. ; Lotter, E. ; Waechter, R. ; Spiering, S. ; Oertel, M. ; Dimmler, B.
Author_Institution :
Zentrum fur Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung, Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract :
In order to advance the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film technology to mass production maturity, ZSW and Wuerth Solar are running two lines: Wuerth Solar´s pilot production line for 0.7 m2 modules gives experience in industrial processing and the ZSW line for 0.09 m2 modules is flexible enough to test new materials and processes. Baseline processes regularly produce CIGS thin-film modules with over 74 Wp. Failure mechanisms like local shunts and ohmic losses are investigated by thermographic imaging. New process variations (atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) Cd-free buffers, reactively sputtered ZnO:Al) already result in module efficiencies >10% in the ZSW line.
Keywords :
copper compounds; gallium compounds; indium compounds; infrared imaging; semiconductor device manufacture; semiconductor device measurement; semiconductor device reliability; semiconductor thin films; solar cells; ternary semiconductors; 10 percent; CIGS modules; CIGS thin-film technology; Cu(InGa)Se2; efficiency; failure mechanisms; local shunts; ohmic losses; pilot line production; thermographic imaging; Atomic layer deposition; Buffer layers; Costs; Failure analysis; Mass production; Materials testing; Sputtering; Statistics; Substrates; Windows;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7471-1
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190629
