An in-line process for deposition of Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) films on 10 x 10
cm(2) substrates has been developed in order to fabricate high-efficiency C
IGS modules. At the first step, CIGS solar cells with a small area were fab
ricated by the in-line evaporation. The cells on different positions in 10
x 10 cm(2) area showed almost the same efficiency of over 14%. Twelve cells
on a substrate of 5 x 10 cm(2) size showed an average efficiency of about
13%. Device-quality CIGS films can be prepared by the in-line evaporation.
Furthermore, interconnected CIGS submodules were fabricated on 10 x 10 cm(2
) size substrates. The CIGS submodule has achieved an efficiency of 10.5%.
The segmental cells in the submodule showed an average open-circuit voltage
higher than 0.6 V, comparable to that of a high-efficiency cell with a lab
oratory size. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.