Investigation of some transparent metal oxides as damp heat protective coating for CIGS solar cells

We investigated the protective effectiveness of some transparent metal oxides (TMO) on CIGS solar cell coupons against damp heat (DH) exposure at 85°C and 85% relative humidity (RH). Sputter-deposited bilayer ZnO (BZO) with up to 0.5- μm Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layer and 0.2-μm bilayer InZnO were used as “inherent” part of device structure on CdS/CIGS/Mo/SLG. Sputter-deposited 0.2-μm ZnSnO and atomic layer deposited (ALD) 0.1-μm Al2O3 were used as overcoat on typical BZO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/SLG solar cells. The results were all negative — all TMO-coated CIGS cells exhibited substantial degradation in DH. Combining the optical photographs, PL and EL imaging, SEM surface micromorphology, coupled with XRD, I-V and QE measurements, the causes of the device degradations are attributed to hydrolytic corrosion, flaking, micro-cracking, and delamination induced by the DH moisture. Mechanical stress and decrease in crystallinity (grain size effect) could be additional degrading factors for thicker AZO grown on CdS/CIGS.