To help me describe to our Students the manufacturing method for the hundreds of solar cells we will be using in the Competition, I will very briefly review Britt, Wiedeman, Schoop and Verebelyi, 2008 IEEE Photo Voltaic Conference:
Global Solar uses a batch manufacturing process based on stainless steel webs up to 1000 meters long and about 32 cm wide, 25 microns thick.
Global Solar uses a batch manufacturing process based on stainless steel webs up to 1000 meters long and about 32 cm wide, 25 microns thick.
The back contact is made of Molybdenum. A thin Chromium coating is applied to enhance adhesion of the Molybdenum coating to the stainless steel web. Both metals are deposited by pulsed DC sputtering.
Copper, Indium, Gallium, and Selenium are deposited by multiple source co-evaporation in the equipment shown in Fig. 2 below. The thickness of the CIGS film is ~ 1.7 micron.
Copper, Indium, Gallium, and Selenium are deposited by multiple source co-evaporation in the equipment shown in Fig. 2 below. The thickness of the CIGS film is ~ 1.7 micron.
There is a buffer layer made of Cadmium Selenide, deposited from a solution, about 0.08 micron thick.
The top electrode is a transparent conducting oxide deposited by pulsed DC sputtering with the equipment shown in Fig. 3 below. The thickness of about 0.1 micron.
The top contact is made by screen printing a silver ink , with the equipment shown in Fig. 4 below.
Voc - open circuit voltage
Isc - short circuit current
Vmp - maximum power voltage
Imp - maximum power current
Pmp - maximum power
Isc - short circuit current
Vmp - maximum power voltage
Imp - maximum power current
Pmp - maximum power
Many thanks to Global Solar Energy Corporation for their generous support of the SGK Competition
