The effect of damp heat-illumination exposure on CIGS solar cells

A combined XRD and electrical characterization study

Journal article (2016)

Authors

M.J. Theelen TNO/Solliance
R.W.A. Hendrikx (OLD) MSE-1
N. Barreau CNRS
H. Steijvers TNO/Solliance
A.J. Bottger (OLD) MSE-1
Research Group
(OLD) MSE-1
Degradation X-ray diffraction CIGS Solar cells Molybdenum In-situ monitoring Zinc oxide Damp heat
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Published Date

2016

Language

English

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Research Group

(OLD) MSE-1

Abstract

Unencapsulated CIGS solar cells were simultaneously exposed to damp heat and illumination. In-situ monitoring of their electrical parameters demonstrated a rapid decrease of the efficiency, mainly driven by changes in the series and shunt resistances. The non-degraded and degraded solar cells were studied by SIMS and XRD to investigate the material changes leading to efficiency loss. SIMS showed the migration of sodium and potassium, likely leading to changes in the shunt resistance and output voltage. Extensive XRD measurements showed that molybdenum oxide was formed and that the in-plane stress in the ZnO:Al film increased. The stress increase is most likely due to the incorporation of species like hydroxide in the grain boundaries. These phenomena could lead to the observed increased series resistance in the solar cells.