Design and Optimization of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide Thin Film Solar Cells
Abstract
The objective of this thesis was to simulate a new way to create high efficiency Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (Cu(InGa)Se2) cells. This was accomplished by creating a model in Silvacos technology computer aided design ATLAS program. A baseline model was tested to confirm functionality of the software, and a stepwise approach was used to include additional features. The first addition was the inclusion of a multi-layer absorber layer with graded Ga concentrations. This layer showed increased internal electric fields, which helped to increase the output of the cell. This was followed by the replacement of the traditional n-type CdS buffer layer with a n-type ZnO buffer layer. The ZnO buffer layer was found to have better band alignment than CdS and resulted in a significant improvement in device performance. Finally, a top grid was included which reduced the output of the cell as a result of shading. The final simulation resulted in a Cu(InGa)Se2 cell which operated at 21.14 efficiency, a 21.9 increase from the baseline cell.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1009063
Entities
People
- Daniel B. Katzman
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School