INDUCIS: A Transfer of Knowledgeexperience between Industry and Academia

Alejandro Pérez Rodríguez, Victor Izquierdo-Roca, Edgardo Saucedo, Cristina Insignares-Cuello, Florian Oliva

IREC – Catalonia Institute for Energy Research

Salvador Jaime-Ferrer, Pierre-Philip Grand, Cedric Broussillou

NEXCIS Photovoltaic Technology, Rousset, France

• IREC: Solar Energy Materials & Systems Group

• INDUCIS:

– Research Objectives

– Scientific Highlights & Main results

• NEXCIS baseline process

• Quality assessment & process monitoring

• Conclusions

INDUCIS: A Transfer of Knowledgeexperience between Industry and

Academia

Catalonia Institute for Energy

Research (IREC)

Founded in 2008, and located in Barcelona,

Spain:

Aim: “..to contribute to the objective of

creating a more sustainable future for

energy usage and consumption, keeping in

mind the economic competitivity and

providing society with the maximum level of

energy security…”

Main activity: Research for Technology

Development

Six main areas:

- Advanced materials for energy

- Lighting

- Offshore wind energy

- Electrical engineering

- Bioenergy and biofuels

-Thermal energy and building performance

3

- Solar Energy Materials and systems

- Functional nanomaterials

- Materials and catalysts

- Nanoionics and fuel cells

- Energy storage and harvesting

• Advanced characterisation processes in

chalcopyrite technologies: Development of

methodologies suitable for Quality Control &

Process Monitoring:

Light scattering (Raman, elastic scattering)

based strategies for ex-situ/in-situ (real time)

process monitoring

4Main RESEARCH LINES & ACTIVITIES

• Sustainable high efficiency chalcogenide based

technologies

Development of kesterite (Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4) solar

cells for sustainable PV technologies.

Ener

gy (

eV)

E

Absorber

Buffer

ZnO

0

1

-1

-2

-3

0 1 2 3x (mm)

Ef

E

Thin film solar cells (a-Si, CdTe, CIGS)

CIGS: championship efficiency

(comparable to multicrystalline Si)

Record = 20.4% (EMPA, 2013) on

flexible substrate and = 21.7% (ZSW

2014) on glass substrate

compatibility with processing on low

weigh polymeric flexible substrates

higher than record from

multicrystalline Si (20.4%)

• CIGS already at industrial implementation stage (mainly with PVD

based processes)

• In spite of complexity of market scenario (overproduction, lowering of

protective tariffs, strong competence with Chinese PV production),

significant growth of the CIGS modules world production from about

150 MW/y in 2009 up to over 2 GW/y in 2011.

• Strongly suited for development/production of low weigh flexible

modules (BIPV/BAPV )

Thin film PV technologies: Overview

CIGS technologies; Competitiveness still compromised by:

• use of higher cost PVD processes (low process yield, low material

use rate, very high investment costs),

• commercial module efficiency still in 13% range (in front of 15%

(multicristalline Si based modules))

Strong need for development of tools suitable for Quality Control &

Process Monitoring compatible with their industrial implementation art

in-situ (real time)/on-line levels:

Increase of process yield

Improvement of unifomity of processes when scaled-up to large

area substrates

Interest in development of alternative low cost routes, based on

chemical/electrochemical approaches, with improved device/module

efficiency:

decrease of CAPEX (one order of magnitude)

very high material use rate (> 90%)

compatible with high throughput (≥ 1 m/min)

Activities & Projects: Thin Film CIGS PV Technologies

Research Objectives

a) To decrease the gap existing between the efficiency of ED-based

solar cells in relation to devices based with conventional higher cost

PVD processes:

Need for a special effort in improvement of degree of control

and homogeneity of chemical composition and structure of

complex Cu(In,Ga)Se2 quaternary based alloys in large area

substrates

Correlation with detailed advanced characterization of devices

and processes

b) To improve production yields and throughput by implementation of

suitable quality control and process monitoring techniques:

Development of light scattering based techniques (Raman,

Rayleigh) for process monitoring. Analysis of their

implementability at pilot line level

• Definition/implementation

of advanced

characterization procedures

• Analysis/modification of

main ED & RTP process

parameters

Scientific Highlights

Development of CdS

process monitoring

procedures

Development of AZO

process monitoring

procedures

NEXCIS Baseline process

Improvement of absorber intrinsic properties and homogeneity of ED and

RTP processes: significant increase in efficiency at cell and module level:

Best efficiency 17.3% (demonstrated on 60x120 cm2 substrates) : world

record cell on ED CIGS

Module average efficiency: similar to average PVD industrial production

Efficiency (AA)

July 2012

CIGSe

Jan 2012

CIGSe

July 2013

CIGSe

Jan 2014

CIGSSe

July 2014

CIGSSe

Jan 2015

CIGSSe

Average modules

60x120cm² - - - - 12.4 13.3

Best module

60x120cm² cert. - - - 12.0 13.2 14.0

Average modules

30x60cm²10.5 11.2 11.7 13.5 13.8 14.1

Best module 30x60cm²

cert12.3 12.3 13.1 14.2 14.5 14.8

Average of 99 0.5cm²

cells on 30x60cm²

sample (w/out ARC)

12.6 12.9 13.6 14.9 15.1 15.3

Best certified cell

aperture area with

ARC

14.9

(0.5cm²)

14.9

(0.5cm²)

15.4

(0.5cm²)15.8 (1cm²) 16.0 (1cm²)

17.3

(0.5cm²)

11

5*5 cm2

15*15 cm2

30*60 cm2: Efficiency certified @ 14.8%

60*120 cm2

Efficiency certified @

14.0%

• Since Nov. 2013: setup of a complete 60x120

cm2 fabrication line.

• Jan 2014: first 60x120 cm2 modules fabricated

with record efficiency 12% (AA)

• Jan 2015: Average module efficiency 13.3% (AA)

12

12

1µm

325nm 532nm 785nm

ZnO:A (3.6eV)

i-ZnO (3.6eV)

Cu(In,Ga)Se2

(1.0-1.6eV)

MoSe2

Mo

Glass

CdS (2.5eV)

100 200 300 400 500 600

Inte

nsity (

arb

.units)

Raman shift (cm-1)

CIGS

OVC785nm

325nm

532nm

CIGS CdS

ZnO

OVC

510

Raman

Window

Buffer/

absorber surfaces

Absorber surfaces

Multi-excitation wavelength Raman/PL selective assessment of

absorber /buffer/ TCO layers in CIGS solar cells and modules

Quality assessment and Process monitoring

0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

[Ga]/

([Ga]+[In])

[Ga]/

([Ga]+[In])

Inte

nsity (

arb

.un

its)

Energy (eV)

47.1%

42.9%

32.9%

14.3%

1.4%

InGaAs detector CCD detector

7.1%

150 200 250 300

220-250 cm-1

Inte

nsity (

arb

. un

its)

CIGSe

785nm

Raman shift (cm-1)

164-180 cm-1

150 200 250 300 350 400

270-350 cm-1

140-230 cm-1

CIGSSe

633

Inte

nsity (

arb

. u

nits)

Raman shift (cm-1)

300 400 500 600 700

ZnO:Al

325nm 541-626 cm-1

Inte

nsity (

arb

. u

nits)

Raman shift (cm-1)

316-516 cm-1

150 200 250 300 350 400

244-342 cm-1CIGSSe

= 532 nm

Inte

nsity (

arb

. u

nits)

Raman shift (cm-1)

164-230 cm-1

ZnO:Al

CdSCIGSSe

In-situ / on-line assessment of quality control

indicators (relevant for module efficiency)

AZO conductivity

CdS thickness

OVC content

Ga/(In+Ga) content - PL

S/(S+Se) content

Application for process monitoring: Implementation and

calibration of a modular/portable Raman/PL setup system

Laser 1064nm

Laser

830nm

Laser

785nm

Laser 532nm

IR

Detector

CCD

Detector

Single grating iHR320

Jobin-Yvon spectrometer

Optical

probe• High flexibility of excitation

wavelength (325nm/ 532nm/ 785nm/

830nm/ 1064nm),

• Implementation of optical probes

compatible with Raman/PL

measurements in wide (IR-Vis-UV)

excitation spectral range

• Easy integration at on-line level

(fiber optics)

• Portable:

Use of resonant Raman

excitation: fast measuring time

(0.1 sec – 10 sec)

Conclusions

INDUCIS: good example of fruitful industry/academia collaboration, with

significant TOK for the establishment & demonstration of an industrial ED

CIGS pilot line:

Commercial size 60x120 cm2 modules demonstrated with efficiencies in

13%-14% range (similar to average module efficiency in existing PVD based

industrial production lines)

Strong advanced in uniformity and reproducibility of up-scaled processes,

together with much deeper knowledge of the different layers in the

cell/module heterostructure at the different process steps

Raman/PL based methodologies for assessment of quality control

indicators relevant for device efficiency already validated on NEXCIS

processes

16

http://www.inducis.eu/

Thanks for your attention!!

Supported by:

IREC Fundation: