CIGS Nanocrystal Solar Cells on Plastics and Paper

Solar power has made enormous inroads in the past decade as a renewable energy source, primarily due to decreased Si solar panel cost. Additional opportunities are available to utilize solar power by integrating with buildings and transportation, powering low-power portable devices and wearables, and meet emergency and non-grid energy generation needs. However, bulky and rigid Si solar panels are ill fit to meet these needs. Low-cost, lightweight, flexible photovoltaics (PVs) are needed to extend the reach of solar power.

This presentation summarizes our work using Copper Indium Selenide (CIS) nanocrystal inks to build solar panels on a variety of low cost, heat intolerant substrates. CIS nanocrystal PVs have been fabricated using a variety of print methods on plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cellulose nanofiber paper, with champion devices reaching 2.8% and 2.25% respectively. Devices on paper demonstrated no performance loss even when flexed up to 100 times at a 5 mm radius. Additionally, devices with over 2% efficiency were demonstrated with all printed window layers.