Flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 on Al foils and the effects of Al during chemical bath deposition

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells on aluminum foils offer the advantage to be flexible, lightweight and, because of the low cost substrate, can be used for several applications, especially in buildings, where aluminum is already commonly used. There are reports of a-Si solar cells on Al foil, but to our knowledge development of CIGS solar cells on Al foils has not been reported. We have developed CIGS solar cells on coated Al-foil samples. When using Al as substrate, CIGS layers of suitable structural and opto-electronic properties should be grown at low (< 450 °C) deposition temperatures, because of the difference in the thermo-physical properties of layers and substrates. We have grown CIGS layers by evaporation of elemental Cu, In, Ga, and Se at different substrate temperatures and investigated the properties of these CIGS layers by different methods (SEM, SIMS, and EDX). The photovoltaic properties of small area solar cells were characterized with I–V and quantum efficiency measurements. An efficiency of 6.6% has been achieved. We have also observed that some Al from the foil dissolves during chemical bath deposition (CBD) of CdS. The presence of Al in the bath seems, in some cases, to be beneficial for the electrical properties of the CIGS solar cells. Thinner and more homogenous CdS layers are obtained. Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) and SIMS measurements have shown incorporation of Al in the CdS.