Funding Opportunity: SuNLaMP
SunShot Subprogram: Photovoltaics
Location: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO
Amount Awarded: $4,000,000

This project aims to overcome the largest challenges to investor confidence and long product lifetime in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS): meta-stability, potential-induced degradation, and shading-induced hot spots.

APPROACH

This project will develop CIGS cells with a thin absorber layer that will have cost and reliability advantages due to higher reverse breakdown currents. In addition, the project will improve reliability of CIGS to the level of silicon by quantifying and developing mitigation strategies for meta-stability and potential-induced degradation in CIGS devices.

INNOVATION

This project will address the high impact technical issues related to bankability. Cell-level research will uncover the root causes of meta-stability, reverse bias breakdown, and potential induced degradation.