Abstract
The recently published record efficiency of 23.6 % for a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells, the recently published high efficiency bi-facial CIGS solar cell and the on-going and starting EU Horizon Europe projects show that CIGS has great potential to contribute to the renewable energy generation within Europe and in the world. In this talk, I would like report on the path leading to the break-through efficiencies and some prospects for new device architectures and how scientific collaboration is key to successful results. The latest break-throughs include alloying with elements such as silver (substituting for Cu in CIGS) as well as addition of light and heavy alkali elements for passivation of surfaces and grain boundaries and control of doping. The improvements in architecture include the use of transparent contacts, enabling both bi-faciality and use in tandem devices, but also design of the CIGS semiconductor bandgap as function of depth in the solar cell.
About the speaker
Marika Edoff received her MSc in Electric and Electronic Engineering in 1990 and PhD degree in Solid State Electronics in 1997 from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. She joined Uppsala University in 1997 and was promoted to full professor in Solid State Electronics with specialization in solar cells in 2012 at Uppsala University. Her main interest is in chalcogenide based thin film solar cells, especially Cu(In,Ga)Se2(CIGS) and its alloys, where she has pioneered research on alkali elements in this type of solar cells as well as passivated back contacts with applications for ultrathin CIGS-based solar cells. She was one of four founders of the spin-off company Solibro AB. In 2003 she became group leader for the thin film solar cell research at Uppsala University and founded the Division of Solar Cell Technology in 2020. She is member of the board of the Swedish Research Council and has received the Gustav Adolf medal in gold and the Björkénska Prize for her contributions to leadership and research at Uppsala University