Image: Avancis
German thin-film solar module manufacturer Avancis claims to have achieved a new world record efficiency for a completely encapsulated CIGS module with an integrated series connection measuring 30 cm × 30 cm.
The 203% efficiency was certified for a panel with an aperture area of 527 cm2 by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). The previous record for a CIGS module of this size was 19.64%.
“This success was made possible by further optimizing the Ga-rich Cu (In, Ga) (S, Se)2 absorber bandgap profile by adapting the AVANCIS SEL-RTP process (stacked elemental layer – rapid thermal processing) in combination with the Na-based post-deposition treatment of the absorber and the Cd-free, sputtered Zn (O, S) buffer,” the company said in a statement.
Avancis said the processes used to achieve the record efficiency could be easily transferred to commercial production.
“These large-area thin-film solar modules open up almost limitless design freedom in the planning and realization of future oriented solar facades,” it said. “The special Avancis color technology enables dynamic coloring and thus an interplay of light and color, and the matt, noble surface creates an architectural highlight.”
Avancis has developed a high-efficiency solar panel with a CIGS absorber, sodium-based post-treatment, and cadmium-free sputtered zinc oxysulphide buffer. The panel was made at its research center in Munich, Germany.
Avancis has been part o fChinese state-owned CNBM since 2014. Its head office is located in Torgau, Germany, with additional locations in Munich and Ochang, South Korea.
