Flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells for space application

Thin film solar cells (TFSC) with Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) as absorber layer have been produced on rigid glass substrates for the terrestrial market. There exist, however, different investigations for manufacturing of TFSC on flexible substrates in order to achieve very thin and highly flexible (rollable) solar cells. Besides their capability to open new terrestrial market segments, they are considered as competitive candidates for future flexible thin film space power generators compared to traditional crystalline solar cells. This paper explains the advantages of flexible TFSC for usage in space, including: low mass and storage volume, high power / mass ratio [> 100 W/kg at array level], high radiation resistance against proton and electron radiation and, lower production costs. These cells can be produced on flexible conductive and insulating substrate materials and have efficiency potentials of up to 15%. We report on the current development steps to adopt the TFSC technology to space requirements as well as the first European industrial approach to the roll-to-roll production of flexible CIGS-TFSC on polyimide as substrate material. Stability issues in space environment concern not only the TFSC itself, but all system components such as interconnects, cell assembly and flexible blankets. The adhesion of the back-contact to the substrate, the emissivity control in the infrared wavelength range, the electrical contacting and interconnection as well as flexible encapsulation are currently under investigation and are discussed in the paper. The production costs for TFSC for space application can be further reduced by sharing resources for the production of flexible TFSC for the terrestrial market; namely by using both, the existing terrestrial investment in production facilities as well as the synergies in R and D.