The Copper Indium Selenium (CuInSe2) thin Films Solar Cells for Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors (PVT)

Abstract

Ternary chalcopyrite compounds which may act as an absorber in thin films solar cells are mainly CuGaSe2, the CuInS2, CuInSe2 and the CuAlSe2. Because of their large optical absorption coefficient, a thickness of 1.5-2 microns is sufficient to absorb the useful portion of the solar spectrum. The most promising appears to be the CuInSe2 material, a 18.8% efficiency is obtained by the solar cells based on this material. However, its low band gap (1,04ev) limits the open circuit voltage and thus the efficiency of the solar cell.In this work we present the application of this material in hybrid photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT). For the determination of its electrical and thermal performance through the development of a heat balance that involves heat exchange between the different components of the collector. The results obtained show that we can have a thermal efficiency equal to (85.68%) and an electrical efficiency of the order of (19.22%) for our PVT collector based on CIS are better than the values obtained by PVT collector based on monocristallin silicon.