Fabrication of semi-transparent Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells aided by Bromine etching

This study introduces a straightforward and reproducible fabrication method to achieve micro-structured semi-transparent Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGSe) solar cells by lithography and wet etch techniques. We fabricated a segmented micro-structured solar cell by selective etching of an opaque CIGSe solar cell with bromine and bleach solutions and obtained an array of micro lines from 200 mu m to 1000 mu m in width separated by transparent spaces, resulting in an overall semi-transparent structure. The CIGSe solar cell lines exhibit a maximum power conversion efficiency of 12.4 % for 1000 mu m width, which reduces to 6.8 % for 200 mu m wide lines. The obtained values are among the highest reported in the literature for similarly architected devices. Our results are a promising step towards the implementation of building integrated CIGSe photovoltaics as windows.

Automated summary

This study presents a method for fabricating micro-structured semi-transparent Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGSe) solar cells using lithography and wet etch techniques. By selectively etching an opaque CIGSe solar cell with bromine and bleach solutions, a segmented micro-structured solar cell with transparent spaces was obtained. The CIGSe solar cell lines achieved a high power conversion efficiency of 12.4% for 1000 mu m width, demonstrating potential for building integrated CIGSe photovoltaics as windows.