TITLE:
Review: Advances in the CIGS Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications
AUTHORS:
Phyllis Makena Mwenda, Walter Njoroge, Sarroney Mirenga, Dickson Mwenda Kinyua
KEYWORDS:
CIGS, Thin Films, Photovoltaics, Efficiency
JOURNAL NAME:
Smart Grid and Renewable Energy,
Vol.13 No.4,
April
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: The copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) thin
film is widely acknowledged as the most promising
material for photovoltaic applications. Mainly due to appealing chemical and physical
structures properties, low fabrication cost, high efficiency, and uncomplicated
integration especially with the advancement in the use of the flexible
substrate. Promising results have been achieved in CIGS-based solar cells in
the last few years and these devices could be key in unlocking the potential of
green energy. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the parameters that are
critical to improving the efficiency of these devices. Parameters such as doping concentration, thickness, substrates, and energy
bandgap. In this review, we
comprehensively report on these parameters with an aim of showing the recent
progress on the various methods used to optimize them, all geared towards
efficient and low cost solar cells for PV applications.