CIGS solar cells on ultra-thin glass substrates: Determination of mechanical properties by nanoindentation and application to bending-induced strain calculation

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) based thin film solar cells have been extensively studied and today, power conversion efficiencies higher than 20% have been demonstrated on both rigid and flexible substrates. However, very little is known about the mechanical resistance of flexible CIGS solar cells under flexion. Here we report an original study on the mechanical properties of CIGS solar cells fabricated on 100µm-thick ultra-thin glass substrates. The Young's modulus and hardness of Mo and CIGS thin films are measured by nanoindentation, a technique well adapted to the characterization of thin film materials. Young's modulus values of 289GPa and 70GPa are obtained for the Mo and the CIGS layers respectively, as well as a CIGS hardness of 3.4GPa. These values, combined with an analytical model, allow calculating the strain induced in thin film during the flexion of solar cells fabricated on ultra-thin glass substrate as well as on polyimide substrate. Thereby, we show that using a substrate with a low thickness and a low Young's modulus enables to lower the thin films strain during the flexion of cells. •Ultra-thin glass is used as a flexible substrate for the CIGS technology.•The Young's moduli of Mo and CIGS layers are measured by nanoindentation.•The reported values are used to calculate the strain induced in CIGS in flexion.•The strain is calculated for cells made on ultra-thin glass and on polyimide.