Copper indium gallium selenide solar cells

Research and development in chalcogenide photovoltaics has been ongoing over the past five decades. There have been periods of enthusiastic breakthroughs that resulted in record-breaking efficiencies of both laboratory-scale and larger modules of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) devices and interspersed pragmatic periods that indicate more research must be done. As of today, CIGS photovoltaic devices achieve the highest energy conversion efficiency among the available thin film technologies. This achievement is considered a miracle by some, given that so many basic material properties are still not well understood. In the following sections, the physics and technology of each layer of CIGS devices will be presented. The overview covered in this section is limited and is therefore not all-encompassing of the tremendous work done this field. Instead, this section is aimed as an entry-point for readers who are not yet familiar with the development of CIGS devices.