Toward industrailisation of ultrathin CIGSe based solar cells – ULTRACIS_M

The aim of this project is to settle a disruptive CIGS solar cell technology based on ultrathin CIGS layers with thicknesses down to 0.1 µm while maintaining, or even increasing, the cells and module efficiencies, keeping the benefit of the exceptional photovoltaic quality achieved by the CIGS technology. This approach anticipates the strategic roadmap of CIGS technology, aiming to overcome the bottleneck of the limited primary resources in indium (600 tons per year) which will not allow the present technology based on 2 micron thick CIGS films to go to multiGW yearly production levels, expected from 2015 and beyond. A breakthrough in using ultrathin CIGS layers is thus absolutely needed as a key option for the economy of indium, allowing the durability of the CIGS technology. This project, following the first ULTRACIS ANR Project, will aim to bring and consolidate key results and strategies of ULTRACIS to the stage of proof of industrial manufacturability. This will allow the consortium to firmly stay at a leading international research position to anticipate a key industrial innovation in CIGS technology and to prepare/increase the competitiveness of the associated industrial players for the coming years.
This ambitious challenge will combine two main lines :
(i)direct deposition of ultrathin CIGS solar cells with two already established industrial methods : (co)evaporation and electrodeposition, one in vacuum and the other one atmospheric, and a disruptive one which is atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) and,
(ii)integration and optimization of new device architectures specific for ultrathin CIGS layers, to insure optical and electrical managements, including front and back side engineering, with innovative structures, chemistries and materials which have been pioneered and patented in the first ULTRACIS project. The final goal being :
a) a fabrication process of efficient very thin cells (<0.4 microns @ 15%) on a demonstration area ( 5x5 cm2)
b) the exploration of routes to achieve CIGS solar cells as thin as 0.1 microns with efficiencies >10%
c) evaluation and specifications for a manufacturable process