CIS Modules Process R&D: Final Technical Report, October 2005 - June 2006

The primary objectives of this subcontract were to: address key near-term technical R&D issues for continued improvement in thin-film PV products; continue process development for increased production capacity; pursue long-term R&D contributing to progress toward the MYTP goals for 2020 to increase the conversion efficiency to 15% and reduce module manufacturing costs to less than $50/m2, thusenabling PV systems with a 30-year lifetime at an installed cost of under $2.00/W; and advance the understanding of the requirements needed to achieve better thin-film PV cell and module performance, greater reliability and market acceptance, and investigate materials systems and new devices that can improve the cost/performance ratio of future thin-film PV factories. The demonstrated andmaintained high production yield is a major accomplishment supporting attractive cost projections for CIS. Process R&D at successive levels of CIS production has led to the continued demonstration of the prerequisites for commitment to large-scale commercialization. Process and packaging R&D during this and previous subcontracts has demonstrated the potential for further cost and performanceimprovements.