The effects of partial replacement of Cu with Ag in a Cu(In,Ga)S2 (CIGS) thin film on its structural, optical, electrostructural, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties were investigated, in order to improve its performance for PEC water reduction under sunlight illumination. Results from X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed the successful partial replacement of Cu with Ag to form solid...

Thin-film solar cells with CuInxGa1−xSe2 (CIGS) absorber are still far below their efficiency limit, although lab cells reach already 19.9%. One important aspect is the homogeneity of the alloy. Large-scale simulations combining Monte Carlo and density functional calculations show that two phases coexist in thermal equilibrium below room temperature. Only at higher temperatures, CIGS becomes mo...

The non-toxic and wide bandgap material TiO2 is explored as an n-type buffer layer on p-type Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layer for thin film solar cells. The amorphous TiO2 thin film deposited by atomic layer deposition process at low temperatures shows conformal coverage on the CIGS absorber layer. Solar cells from non-vacuum deposited CIGS absorbers with TiO2 buffer layer result in a high sh...

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) aim to improve the quality of care, reduce unjustified practice variations and reduce healthcare costs. In order for them to be effective, clinical guidelines need to be integrated with the care flow and provide patient-specific advice when and where needed. Hence, their formalization as computer-interpretable guidelines (CIGs) makes it possible to develop CI...

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) are promising materials for thin film photovoltaic applications. This work studies the epitaxial growth of CIGS single crystal films on GaAs substrates of various orientations and characterizes the properties of the thin films. A surprising finding is the strong tendency of film surfaces to facet to {112} planes. The work attempted to establish the connections between the fi...

A pilot study (PS) has been performed under the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM) / Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) with the objective to compare the atomic fractions of Cu, In, Ga and Se in CIGS alloy films. Four polycrystalline CIGS films with different atomic fractions were fabricated by variation of the relative atomic fraction of Ga on 100 mm x 100 mm soda-lime gl...

Device modeling and simulation studies of a Cu(In1-x,Gax)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cell have been carried out. A variety of graded band-gap structures, including space charge region (SCR) grading, back surface region grading, and double grading of the CIGS absorber layer, are examined. The device physics and performance parameters for different band-gap profiles were analyzed. Based on the sim...