CIS-Based Thin Film PV Technology: Phase I Annual Technical Report, September 1995 - September 1996

Alloys of copper indium diselenide are promising candidates for reducing the cost of photovoltaics well below the cost of crystalline silicon. The availability of natural resources and the effect on the environment both appear to be acceptable, and long-term outdoor stability has been demonstrated at NREL. The Siemens Solar Industries (SSI) approach to developing a reliable, high-throughput,high- yield, large-area thin-film deposition process is to first demonstrate process capability on small-area laminated minimodules. A reproducible low-variation baseline has been demonstrated for over 2000 minimodules. Laminated minimodule efficiencies after outdoor exposure typical of in-service conditions average 12.4%, and a 13.6% aperture-area efficient minimodule has been verified by NREL.Process scale-up is proceeding from the foundation of this reproducible low-variation baseline process. However, the performance of large-area circuits processed in the SSI large-area reactor has not yet reached the same level as the performance of the baseline process, and SSI-fabricated CIS-based devices have failed standard environmental stress tests. Future plans include reproduction ofbaseline process conditions in the large reactor, demonstration of large-area process capability, development of a module design to pass accelerated environmental tests, and proceeding with commercialization tasks.