15% efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells obtained by low-temperature pulsed electron deposition

An approach to low-cost production of Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells based on pulsed electron deposition (PED) has achieved a crucial milestone. Lab-scale solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 15% were obtained by depositing CIGS from a stoichiometric quaternary target at 270 degrees C and without any post-growth treatment. An effective control of the p-doping level in CIGS was achieved by starting the PED deposition with a layer of NaF tailored to generate the optimum Na diffusion. These results show that PED is a promising technology for the development of a competitive low-cost production process for CIGS solar cells. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4755772]