Thin-film solar cells based on CIGS are being considered for large scale power plants as well as building
integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. Past studies indicate that CIGS cells degrade rapidly when
exposed to moisture. As a result, an effective approach to encapsulation is required for CIGS cells to
satisfy the international standard IEC 61646. CIGS modules fabricated for use in large power plants can
be encapsulated with glass sheets on the top and bottom surfaces and can be effectively sealed around the
edges. In the case of BIPV applications, however, it is desirable to utilize CIGS cells grown on flexible
substrates, both for purposes of achieving reduced weight and for cases involving non-flat surfaces. For
these cases, approaches to encapsulation must be compatible with the flexible substrate requirement. Even
in the case of large power plants, the glass-to-glass approach to encapsulation may eventually be
considered too costly. We are investigating encapsulation of flexible CIGS cells by lamination. Sheets of
PET or PEN coated with multilayer barrier coatings are used to laminate the flexible cells. Results are
discussed for laminated cells from two CIGS manufacturers. In both cases, the cell efficiency decreases
less than 10% after 1000 hours of exposure to an environment of 85°C/85%RH. This paper discusses these
two approaches, and reviews results for uncoated cells and mini-modules fabricated by the former Shell
Solar Industries (SSI).
Thin film superlattice materials can exhibit physical, optical and mechanical properties very
different and superior to those of single layer counterparts. In the past fifteen years, hard coating,
optical and electrical device technologies have advanced beyond the use of single layer coatings
with the development of nanoscale compositionally modulated coatings, or superlattices and
nanocomposites. A typical superlattice consists of hundreds to thousands of nm-scale layers with
alternating compositions and/or crystalline phases. It is possible to engineer the electrical and
mechanical properties by choice of layer thicknesses and compositions. Typical layer thicknesses
are between 2 and 100 nm. We report of three types of superlattice coatings: (1) AlN/Si3N4 optical
superlattice for abrasion protection of ZnS IR windows, (2) Al/Cu structural superlattices and (3)
advanced thermoelectric superlattices. All superlattice coatings were deposited by DC and RF
reactive magnetron sputtering. The AlN/Si3N4 superlattice had layer thicknesses of 2 nm and
exhibited a nanohardness of 35 GPa. The Al/Cu superlattice had layer thicknesses of 1.5 nm and a
hardness near 6.5 GPa and is being developed for lightweight optics for space applications. The
thermoelectric superlattice demonstrated a figure of merit (ZT) ~ 1.5 and is being developed for
power generation from waste heat sources.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.