Comparative alternative materials assessment to screen toxicity hazards in the life cycle of CIGS thin film photovoltaics.

Cu(InGa)Se2 THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS: COMPARATIVE LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS OF BUFFER LAYERS

A motivation for replacing the current CdS buffer layer in CIGS PV is to avoid potential environmentaland humanhealth risks related to cadmium compounds. However, to gain a full perspective, such risks should be evaluated throughout the entire life cycle of the CdS, and also of alternative buffer layers. Based on data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Global Solar Energy, we exa...

Towards sustainable photovoltaics: the search for new materials.

The opportunities for photovoltaic (PV) solar energy conversion are reviewed in the context of projected world energy demands for the twenty-first century. Conventional single-crystal silicon solar cells are facing increasingly strong competition from thin-film solar cells based primarily on polycrystalline absorber materials, such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenid...

Process Development for CIGS Based Thin Film Photovoltaics Modules

Environmental assessment of alternative strategies for municipal solid waste management by means of life cycle assessment modelling (a case study: Chalus, Iran)

Background and Objective: Due to the increasing trend of municipal solid waste (MSW) production, if a suitable management system is not applied, it will lead to environmental pollution and endanger human health. The aim of this study was to compare different scenarios of waste management in Chalous city with life cycle assessment (LCA) approach and to select the most efficient method in terms o...

Delft University of Technology Quenching Mo optical losses in CIGS solar cells by a point contacted dual-layer dielectric spacer A 3-D optical study

A 3-D optical modelling was calibrated to calculate the light absorption and the total reflection of fabricated CIGS solar cells. Absorption losses at molybdenum (Mo) / CIGS interface were explained in terms of plasmonic waves. To quench these losses, we assumed the insertion of a lossless dielectric spacer between Mo and CIGS, whose optical properties were varied. We show that such a spacer wi...