Progress beyond state of the art

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With the introduction of RbF (and CsF) post-deposition treatment (PDT) of CIGS absorbers, a step forward to even higher efficiencies could be made. Finally, using the RbF-PDT procedure combined with an advanced buffer system with very thin solution-grown CdS and sputtered (Zn,Mg)O, a certified cell efficiency of 22.6% (with anti-reflective coating) could be reached.

ZSW’s partners in this endeavor are

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the EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), the universities of Luxembourg (LU), Rouen (F), Parma (I) and Aalto (FIN), the IMEC (Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum VZW in B), the HZB (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie in D), the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory INL (P), Flisom AG (CH), and Manz CIGS Technology GmbH (D). The idea behind this EU project is to pool these eleven organizations‘ multidisciplinary skills in a bid to develop better cells.

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A new opportunity for European cell manufacturers

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The performance of thin-film solar cells based on chalcopyrite has improved markedly in recent years. Able to achieve 20.4 percent efficiency, CIGS solar cells on plastic foil are almost on par with multicrystalline solar cells. CIGS cells on glass topped that mark for the first time in 2013 and increased their lead by 1.3 percentage points to 21.7 percent in 2014. These two world records were achieved by two partners of the Sharc25 project: EMPA holds the record for the foil substrate and ZSW for glass.

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Researching CIGS thin-film solar cells

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Sharc25, an acronym for ’super high efficiency Cu(In, Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells approaching 25%,‘ aims to raise the bar even higher. The five research institutes, four universities and two companies are pursuing three strategies to achieve this goal: Improve the absorber material, harness the power of new designs for more efficient surfaces and interfaces, and optimize light management to raise the efficiency threshold another few notches. An increase of about three percentage points to 25 percent efficiency would be quite the leap in performance.
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2nd public Sharc25 project workshop was held on October 29, 2018 at Empa in Dübendorf, Switzerland

Empa, with the support of all project partners, organized and conducted a workshop with more than 70 international attendees from the thin-film community on October 29, 2018 at Empa in Dübendorf, Switzerland (see agenda below). Guests came from 13 countries and 32 research institutes, universities, and companies for this full-day event. New results from Sharc25 project and progress in CIGS technology were provided during oral and visual presentations to the interested experts. Participants had the chance to present their research activities during a poster session. In addition, an external guest speakers (not partner of the Sharc25 consortium), a tutorial on advanced characterization tools suitable for industry, and fruitful discussion between Sharc25 partners and scientists from the thin-film community brought the event to the next level. Finally, both industrial partners Flisom AG and NICE Solar Energy GmbH assessed the results of the Sharc25 project from industrial point of view. The Sharc25 website with its list of publications including links to the open access papers was promoted.
Agenda_2nd_Sharc25_workshop_Duebendorf_2018-10-29

Announcement: 2nd Sharc25 workshop in Dübendorf (Switzerland) on October 29, 2018

We are pleased to announce a workshop on “CIGS solar cells – advanced characterization and novel concepts” within the framework of the EU project Sharc25. This 2nd Sharc25 project workshop will be held at Empa in Dübendorf (Switzerland) on October 29, 2018.
AIM & SCOPE of the workshop
This full-day event will provide opportunities to learn about the advancements made through the Shrac25 project and to discuss with experts from the consortium and with external speakers on advanced characterization and novel concepts in CIGS solar cells. Key problems limiting the efficiencies and possible approaches for achieving efficiencies towards 25% will be discussed. Additionally, it is envisaged that interaction of academia and industry will identify topical research themes for supporting industrial developments and advancing state of the art of CIGS technology.
PROGRAMM
Please save the date October 29, 2018 for this interesting event. Details will follow in August 2018.
POSTER
There is possibility to present a poster with your research results. If you are interested please indicate this during registration and send an abstract of no more than 10 lines to stephan.buecheler@empa.ch
VENUE
Empa Ueberlandstrasse 129 8600 Dübendorf / Switzerland (Address for GPS / sat nav: Eduard-Amstutz-Strasse)
Empa Dübendorf is very close to Zurich airport and can be easily reached by public transport
REGISTRATION
The event is free of charge but advance registration is required until October 12th, 2018. Please register online on following website: www.empa-akademie.ch/sharc25

1st public Sharc25 project workshop was held on December 14, 2017 at ZSW in Stuttgart, Germany

ZSW, with the support of all project partners, organized and conducted a workshop with 70 international attendees from the thin-film community on December 14, 2017 at ZSW in Stuttgart, Germany. Guests came from 13 European countries and 23 research institutes, universities, and companies for this full-day event. New results from Sharc25 project and progress in CIGS technology were provided during oral and visual presentations to the interested experts. In addition, two external guest speakers (not partners of the Sharc25 consortium) and fruitful discussions between Sharc25 partners and scientist from the thin-film community brought the event to the next level. The 2nd Sharc25 workshop, which will be organized by Empa in fall 2018, was already promoted.
Agenda_1st_Sharc25_workshop_Stuttgart_2017-12-14
 

Announcement: 1st Sharc25 workshop in Stuttgart (Germany) on December 14, 2017

We are pleased to announce the 1st Sharc25 project workshop with focus on “Advanced Characterization Techniques and Analytics” which will be held in Stuttgart (Germany) on December 14, 2017. This full-day event offers the opportunity to discuss with experts from the project consortium and with external speakers on analytic topics concerning the CIGS absorber, interfaces, device characterization and beyond.
During the project period of 3.5 years two workshops are planned which will be organized by ZSW, Empa, and the consortium.
Please save the date December 14, 2017 for this interesting event. An invitation with agenda and more detailed information about the meeting (location and registration) will be available by the end of October 2017.