Accelerated performance degradation of CIGS solar cell determined by in-situ monitoring

An 'hybrid' degradation setup, in which humidity, temperature and illumination are used in order to accelerate degradation of CIGS, has been developed. This setup consists of a climate chamber, which can vary the temperature and humidity. Furthermore, an area of 80x80 cm(2) is illuminated, which allows both the study of light induced behvaior and the in-situ measurement of the IV curve of the cell during the test, so the degradation behavior can be observed in time. The IV output is automatically logged and characteristic parameters like efficiency, currents, voltages, ideality factor and resistance can be extracted. The 40x40 cm(2) in the center of the illuminated area was calibrated BAA according to IEC norm 60904-9. Twelve cells or minimodules can be degraded and measured in-situ at the same time. The continuous in-situ IV measurements allowed us to do various studies, including the determination of the temperature dependency and of the impact of light and dark exposure on the performance of CIGS solar cells. Furthermore, the impact of different Na and K concentrations in the CIGS absorber layer on the ininial as well as long term performance of CIGS solar cells was studied.