Call for Papers: Special Issue on Chalcopyrite Thin Film Solar Cells

摘要

Compound semiconductors I-III-VI series, especially Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS) based materials are paving the way for future generations of non silicon thin film solar cell technologies. Thin film technologies are highly interesting since they offer perspectives for low cost production of solar modules, especially for those materials which have already demonstrated high efficiency and long term stable performance in research laboratories. It was not clear for a long time that lab results of small area cells can be really transferred to large volume (> 20 MW) industrial production since the industrial production was very low as compared to silicon based technologies. However during the last few years the booming PV market and the endeavor of CIGS, industries have provided realistic hope for further progress to even higher production volumes (> 100 MW capacity) of high performance and low cost solar modules well below 1 dollar/W_p in the future. More than 20 years of active research, trials and errors have consolidated step-by-step progress and discoveries bringing the present level of maturity to CIGS technologies. However this is not the end of the road, but a change in direction; taking on new challenges for the development of more efficient devices - consuming less material and processed with simple high-throughput methods. The research and industrial community has started taking a knowledge-driven approach based on in-depth scientific insights on fundamentals of materials and devices for the continuation of efficiency gains at the cell and module levels in order to provide avenues for sustainable mass production on GW scale in future.