An Estonian public university of technology has developed a low-cost method for manufacturing a superstrate configuration solar cell with sprayed CuInS2 absorber layer. The university is seeking partners for licensing agreement or to invest in further development of the technology.

Superstrate configuration window layer/buffer layer/absorber layer solar cell structures were prepared either entirely by spray pyrolysis or in combination with chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. Such a solar cell comprises a glass substrate with a transparent conducting oxide layer on it, wide band gap window layer of ZnO or TiO2 on said oxide layer, prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis, CdS buffer layer on ZnO window layer, prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis, or by chemical bath deposition, or In-O-S buffer layer on TiO2 oxide layer, prepared by chemical bath deposition, and one or two layer CuInS2 absorber layer deposited on the buffer layer by chemical spray pyrolysis. A solar cell with output characteristics of Voc=456 mV, jsc=14.6mA/cm2, FF=0,43 and efficiency of 2,9% was prepared with In-O-S buffer layer. Innovative Aspects: The photovoltaic structure is entirely prepared by wet-chemical deposition processes using spray pyrolysis technique to prepare the absorber layer.

Advantages:

- Only chemical solution-based techniques are used

- The process runs in open environment

- No need for sophisticated apparatus or set-up

- The process is fast

- The process is low-cost

- The process is easy to scale up, automate and incorporate into on-line large-area processes

• Liivalaia 13/15
• EE - 10118
• Tel.: +372 6203201
• Tel.: +372 6203201
• Fax.: +372 6203203
• raivo@staff.ttu.ee