Cigs Thin Film Solar Cells

Unlike most thin film solar technologies cigs solar panels offer a potentially competitive efficiency to traditional silicon panels.

Cigs thin film solar cells.

Iw cigstech 8 has been a great success presenting hot cigs thin film solar cell research and industry news to a packed auditorium in stuttgart germany. It is manufactured by depositing a thin layer of copper indium gallium and selenium on glass or plastic backing along with electrodes on the front and back to collect current. A thin film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers or thin film tf of photovoltaic material on a substrate such as glass plastic or metal. The efficiency of cdte solar cells has reached just more than 15 percent and cigs solar cells have reached 20 percent efficiency.

There are health concerns with the use of cadmium in thin film solar cells. Global solar energy s factory is located in tucson arizona and produces flexible solar cells based on our proprietary cigs thin film processes innovative interconnect technology and module structures. Continue reading save the date. Cigs solar cell in full copper indium gallium selenide solar cell thin film photovoltaic device that uses semiconductor layers of copper indium gallium selenide cigs to absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity although cigs solar cells are considered to be in the early stages of large scale commercialization they can be produced by using a process that has the potential to reduce.

The manufacturing of these solar panels began in germany during 2011 but they are now also made in the united states and china. A copper indium gallium selenide solar cell or cigs cell sometimes ci g s or cis cell is a thin film solar cell used to convert sunlight into electric power. Thin film solar cells are finally becoming competitive. Thin film solar panels made with a copper indium gallium selenide substrate contain less toxic cadmium than cdte cells.

Thin film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies including cadmium telluride cdte copper indium gallium diselenide cigs and amorphous thin film silicon a si tf si. Iw cigstech 8 participants in front of the cigs facade at new zsw building in stuttgart. Cigs cells also use the toxic chemical cadmium. Tucson arizona usa.

With efficiencies exceeding 20 measured in the laboratory there may be a continuing place for high efficiency cigs panels in the general solar panel market. However the charm of thin film solar cells is their low thickness which enables processing on flexible lightweight substrates like metal foils or polyimide films. So far cigs on stainless steel foil holds the record efficiency of 17 5 1 among all types of thin film solar cells on flexible substrates. In reality silicon wafer cells achieve on average 15 to 25 percent efficiency.