Cigs Thin Film Solar Panels
They are solid black without the normal silicon cell outlines you see on the face of a crystalline solar panel.
Cigs thin film solar panels. Cigs panels have shown potential in laboratory testing for. With efficiencies exceeding 20 measured in the laboratory there may be a continuing place for high efficiency cigs panels in the general solar panel market. The innovative solar cell is based on the highest efficiency thin film technology available today and its flexible cell architecture makes it ideal for a wide variety of solutions ranging from commercial roofing solar panels to portable mobile devices. A copper indium gallium selenide solar cell or cigs cell sometimes ci g s or cis cell is a thin film solar cell used to convert sunlight into electric power.
A thin film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers or thin film tf of photovoltaic material on a substrate such as glass plastic or metal. Unlike most thin film solar technologies cigs solar panels offer a potentially competitive efficiency to traditional silicon panels. Usually thin film solar panels are lightweight and flexible making them easy to install. Copper indium gallium deselenide and these are the 4 elements in certain mixing ratios that are the active substance in cigs.
Miasolé is a producer of lightweight flexible and powerful solar cells and cell manufacturing equipment. These panels are designed to convert sunlight into electric power by laying a thin layer of these four elements onto a plastic backing. Ascent solar develops and manufactures its cutting edge cigs copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaic technology on a flexible plastic substrate. Copper indium gallium selenide cigs.
Cigs cells also use the toxic chemical cadmium. Gse manufactures copper indium gallium diselenide cigs by using state of the art controlled co evaporation and the thinnest stainless steel substrate possible to create flexible and light weight thin film pv products for use in any application. Because the material has a high absorption coefficient. Cigs already featuring a solid 16 5 production module efficiency can be combined with other solar cells to enable efficiency.
Thin film solar panels made with a copper indium gallium selenide substrate contain less toxic cadmium than cdte cells. A recently released white paper from major cigs players solar frontier hanergy solopower stion siva power and more pushes the message that the lesser known thin film solar technology still holds great potential. Thin film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies including cadmium telluride cdte copper indium gallium diselenide cigs and amorphous thin film silicon a si tf si. Cigs does not use the previously named element of silicon.
The manufacturing of these solar panels began in germany during 2011 but they are now also made in the united states and china.