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Volume 13
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10.3390/en13174545
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Article

Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

by
Deewakar Poudel
1,
Shankar Karki
1,
Benjamin Belfore
1,
Grace Rajan
1,
Sushma Swaraj Atluri
1,
Sina Soltanmohammad
2,
Angus Rockett
2 and
Sylvain Marsillac
1,*
1
Virginia Institute of Photovoltaics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
2
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2020, 13(17), 4545; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174545
Submission received: 13 August 2020 / Revised: 26 August 2020 / Accepted: 27 August 2020 / Published: 2 September 2020
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Abstract

The impact of moisture ingress on the surface of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells was studied. While industry-scale modules are encapsulated in specialized polymers and glass, over time, the glass can break and the encapsulant can degrade. During such conditions, water can potentially degrade the interior layers and decrease performance. The first layer the water will come in contact with is the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, complete devices were immersed in deionized water. To identify the potential sources of degradation, a common window layer for CIGS devices—a bilayer of intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO) and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO)—was deposited. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. To determine the extent of ingress, dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion (predominantly sodium and potassium) in the devices. The results were compared to device measurements, and indicated a degradation of device efficiency (mostly fill factor, contrary to previous studies), potentially due to a modification of the alkali profile.
Keywords: CIGS; corrosion; ITO; alkali CIGS; corrosion; ITO; alkali
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MDPI and ACS Style

Poudel, D.; Karki, S.; Belfore, B.; Rajan, G.; Atluri, S.S.; Soltanmohammad, S.; Rockett, A.; Marsillac, S. Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells. Energies 2020, 13, 4545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174545

AMA Style

Poudel D, Karki S, Belfore B, Rajan G, Atluri SS, Soltanmohammad S, Rockett A, Marsillac S. Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells. Energies. 2020; 13(17):4545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174545

Chicago/Turabian Style

Poudel, Deewakar, Shankar Karki, Benjamin Belfore, Grace Rajan, Sushma Swaraj Atluri, Sina Soltanmohammad, Angus Rockett, and Sylvain Marsillac. 2020. "Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells" Energies 13, no. 17: 4545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174545

APA Style

Poudel, D., Karki, S., Belfore, B., Rajan, G., Atluri, S. S., Soltanmohammad, S., Rockett, A., & Marsillac, S. (2020). Degradation Mechanism Due to Water Ingress Effect on the Top Contact of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells. Energies, 13(17), 4545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174545

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