Contact: Heejin Choi
Email: hjchoi2@etri.re.kr
Phone: +82. 42. 860. 4946
Solar technology of
flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS)
thin film
2
TECHNOLOGY BRIEF
▣ Technology Overview
Solar technology of flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film
Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) compound semiconductor has a direct-transition-type energy
bandgap. Also, because of its highest light absorption coefficient among all
semiconductors, it is possible to manufacture a high-efficiency solar cell with a
thin film of 1 ~ 2 ㎛ thickness.
The thin film solar cell with metal or plastic substrate instead of traditional glass
substrate has a high output ratio.
Flexible, CIGS, Thin film, Sunlight(Solar energy)
5
□ Keywords
□ TRL
Substrate
Mo
Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2
CdS
MgF2
Al/Ni contacts
+
-
ITO/i-ZnO
Stainless steel substrate
Plastic Substrate
Technology Classification Code
Sector
Sub Sector
Industry
EnergyㆍResources
Renewable Energy
Sunlight
3
TECHNOLOGY BRIEF
Solar technology of flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film
• A flexible thin film solar cel using flexible metal substrate or plastic substrate
can be bent or curved so that it can be modified in various forms. On top of
that, it is light and has a very excel ent portability.
• It is expected to create new value in industrial fields such as IT industry,
transportation including electric vehicles, outdoor goods, etc.
▣ Technology Description
▣ Application Fields
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YDChung4 http://www.sonopsolar.co.za/product/solar-frontier-165w/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung5 http://www.yinglisolar.com/en/products/monocrystalline/ylm-60-cell-series-1/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
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▶Limitation of existing technology
▶Excellence of the technology
• Specific power of a thin-film solar cel using conventional glass substrate is
up to 8.25W/kg.
• Specific power of a thin-film solar cel using the metal substrate is about
44W / kg, and a thin film solar cel using a plastic substrate has specific
power of approximately 82W/kg.
• In the case of plastic substrate, it is about 13 times higher than the thin-
film solar cel using glass substrate.
• Flexible thin-film solar cel s are suitable for aircraft and car that require
light weight, or architecture that do not need to consider the load.
▣ Outstanding Features
▣ IPR Status
Korean patent: 1 article registered
Nominal
output(W)
Open circuit
voltage (V)
Short circuit
current (A)
Dimension (mm)
Weight
(kg)
Specific
Power (W/kg)
Glass
substrate
165
110
2.20
977 x 1257 x 35
20.0
8.25
Metal
substrate
62
28
4.2
1333 x 762 x 2.5
1.41
43.97
Plastic
substrate
115
24.1
7.61
800 x 1320 x 11.5
1.40
82.14
No.
Country
Application
Number (date)
Status
Title
1
US
8987037 (2015.03.24)
registered
Methods of manufacturing a solar
cel
2
US
8852991 (2014.10.07)
registered Methods of manufacturing solar cel
3
US
8637765 (2014.01.28)
registered
Single junction type CIGS thin film
solar cel and method for
manufacturing the thin film solar cel
5
• Global Solar of US had produced flexible
CIGS thin-film solar cel s based on
stainless steel from 2008, and was
acquired by Hanergy in China in 2013.
• Ascent Solar of US is producing flexible
CIGS thin-film solar cel s which are based
on polyimide.
• SoloPower of US is using stainless steel
to produce flexible CIGS thin film solar
cel with non-vacuum deposition method.
• Flisom of Switzerland had facilities of
15MW class in 2013. It is now developing
a mass production process for mass
production of low-cost flexible solar cel
module through R2R process.
• Solarion of Germany have founded a 20
MW-scale plant, but after its 2013
restructuring, is now performing limited
production.
• Hanergy of China has acquired Solibro in
Germany, Miasole in US, and Global Solar
in US. It is planning to increase the CIGS
thin film solar cel production capacity up
to 3 GW.
According to the industrialization trend of flexible CIGS thin film solar cell,
the field can be divided into two opposing sides.
One is United States and Europe based on the advanced technology and
the other is China which tries to overcome the technical handicap with its
capital.
□ Korea
□ Global
▣ Technology Trend
US
US
US
Switzerland
Germany
Sweden
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YDChung6 http://www.globalsolar.com/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung7 http://www.ascentsolar.com/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung8 http://solopower.com/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung9 http://www.flisom.com/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung10 http://www.solarion.de/main.html
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung11 http://midsummer.se/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
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기술수요
적용처
Application
Industry
Flexible solar module
business, flexible solar
equipment business, solar
power business
Mobile power supply,
electric cars, airplanes,
building integrated
solar cel s
▶ World-leading company status
• Global Solar Energy, Ascent Solar,
SoloPower, Flisom, Solarion
Amorphous Si solar cell was the market leader of flexible solar cells till
2009. Since 2010, new CIGS and other flexible solar cells companies have
joined the market, making it have a full-out growth.
The market will show high growth rates in the future due to expansion of
the solar market, and is expected to show a production level of 1.6 GW in
2020.
▶ Domestic leading company status
• Dasstech, l jin Materials, SolarFLEX
▣ M arket Trend
□ Market Leaders
□ Technology Demand
※ Source: SNE Research, 2013, "Application technology and market prospect of the
next-generation flexible thin-film solar cell (2009-2020)
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§
Selection and characterization techniques of flexible substrate
§
Formation technique of rear electrode
§
Formation technique of simultaneous-evaporation absorber
§
Supply technology of Alkali metal
§
Formation technique of dry buffer layer
§
Formation technology of window layer
§
Module production technology
▶ Expected applications
• Building Applied Photovoltaics (BAPV)
• Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)
• Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaics (VIPV)
• Power of portable devices such as military, laptop, cel phone
▶ Expected effect
• The solar cel is not merely of the power generation system. It can be merged as
a key component of various products. Consequently, it is expected to become a
growth engine of the new markets and technologies.
• When using a low-cost rol -to-roll process, energy recovery period can be
lessened due to low input of production energy.
▣ Applications and Effects
▣ Scope of Technology Transfer
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YDChung1 http://www.ascentsolar.com/markets/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung2 http://www.ascentsolar.com/comsumer-offg/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
YDChung3 http://www.ascentsolar.com/dandm/
정용덕, 2016-08-16
