Highest-efficiency flexible thin-film solar cells January 21,
2013 Scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for
Materials Science and Technology, have developed thin-film solar
cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record efficiency of
20.4%. The cells are based on CIGS (copper indium gallium
(di)selenide) semiconducting material. Thin-film, lightweight,
flexible high-performance solar modules are attractive for solar
farms, roofs and facades of buildings, automobiles, and portable
electronics and can be produced using continuous roll-to-roll
manufacturing processes that offer further cost reductions
compared to standard silicon technologies. “The next step will
be to scale up the roll-to-roll manufacturing process with an
industrial partner,” Flisom, says Empa Director Gian-Luca Bona.
The research is supported by the Swiss National Science
Foundation (SNSF), the Commission for Technology and Innovation
(CTI), the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) and the EU
Framework Programmes. UPDATE Jan