Review: Advances in the CIGS Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications

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.