CuIn1-xGaxSe2 Research Articles

Solution-growth-synthesized Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 nanoparticles in ethanol bath for the applications of dye-sensitized solar cell and photoelectrochemical reaction

Abstract In this study, ternary CuInSe2 and quaternary CuIn1−xGaxSe2 (CIGSe) nanoparticles (NPs) are grown in the ethanol bath using the one step solution growth method. The influence of Ga content in samples on the optical and electronic properties of the samples is investigated. Average particle sizes of samples are less than 66 nm after a 10-min. reaction in the solution. The NPs are prepared as the ink for the deposition of CIGSe samples on substrates. X-ray diffraction patterns of samples reveal that samples are the chalcopyrite CIGSe phase when the [Ga]/[In+Ga] molar ratio in solution bath of less than 0.5. The carrier concentration and mobility of samples are in the ranges of 1.2 × 1013−9.1 × 1015 cm−3 and 1.4–205 cm2/V/s, respectively. The results show that the maximum photo-conversion efficiency of 7.02% for the dye-sensitized solar cells using CIGSe as the counter electrodes and the maximum photoelectrochemical performances of 0.96 mA/cm2 at an external bias of −0.8 V vs. an Ag/AgCl electrode using the CIGSe as the photoelectrodes in salt–water solution, respectively.

Surface microstructure evolution of highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO thin films and its application in CIGS solar cells

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) has attained intensive attention as being a very good transparent conducting oxide for photovoltaic applications. In this work, AZO films have been deposited on glass substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The influences of substrate temperatures on morphological, structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO films were systematically investigated. The results indicate that all AZO films have the hexagonal structure with c-axis preferred orientation. Morphological and electrical measurements have revealed that the substrate temperatures have strong influence on the microstructure, optical and electrical properties of AZO films. The AZO film is highly transparent from ultraviolet up to near infrared range with highest average transparency exceeding 83%. The minimum resistivity is as low as 6.1×10−4Ωcm. The carrier concentration and mobility are as high as 3.357×1020cm−3 and 30.48cm2/Vs, respectively. Finally, the performances of the AZO film are evaluated by its practical application in Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 (CIGS) photovoltaic device as a transparent electrode. Benefited from its highly transparent and conductive feature, the most efficient device reveals an efficiency of 7.8% with a short-circuit current density of 28.99mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 430mV, and a fill factor of 62.44 under standard conditions.

A Mixture of Ionic Liquid and Ethanol Used for Galvanostatic Electrodeposition of CuInxGa1-xSe2 Thin Films

A mixture of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMImBF4) and ethanol is used for synthesizing CuInxGa1-xSe2 (CIGS) thin films by one-step electrodeposition. The conductivity and electrochemical windows of the mixtures with different volume ratios of ethanol are studied, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra are recorded for investigating the interaction between BMImBF4 and ethanol, which indicates that the cations and anions of the ionic liquid interact with ethanol molecule. The electrochemical behaviors of Cu-In-Ga-Se systems are investigated with different ethanol volume fraction. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic simulations are introduced to study the electronic properties and orbital information of mixtures and electrochemical behaviors of Cu-In-Ga-Se in the mixture. CIGS thin films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in terms of morphology and composition, and by X-ray diffraction and Raman regarding crystal structure. The results show ethanol content has great influences on the electrochemical behaviors of Cu-In-Ga-Se systems as well as the composition and morphology of CIGS thin films. The deposited CIGS thin films are high crystalline quality p-type semiconductor with a bandgap of 1.28 eV after annealed. The mixture can be a promising candidate in industrial application of ionic liquids for electrodeposition of CIGS thin films, even other metals, alloys and semiconductors.

Non-Toxic Buffer Layers in Flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2Photovoltaic Cell Applications with Optimized Absorber Thickness

Absorber layer thickness gradient in Cu(In1−xGax)Se2(CIGS) based solar cells and several substitutes for typical cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layers, such as ZnS, ZnO, ZnS(O,OH), Zn1−xSnxOy(ZTO), ZnSe, and In2S3, have been analyzed by a device emulation program and tool (ADEPT 2.1) to determine optimum efficiency. As a reference type, the CIGS cell with CdS buffer provides a theoretical efficiency of 23.23% when the optimum absorber layer thickness was determined as 1.6 μm. It is also observed that this highly efficient CIGS cell would have an absorber layer thickness between 1 μm and 2 μm whereas the optimum buffer layer thickness would be within the range of 0.04–0.06 μm. Among all the cells with various buffer layers, the best energy conversion efficiency of 24.62% has been achieved for the ZnO buffer layer based cell. The simulation results with ZnS and ZnO based buffer layer materials instead of using CdS indicate that the cell performance would be better than that of the CdS buffer layer based cell. Although the cells with ZnS(O,OH), ZTO, ZnSe, and In2S3buffer layers provide slightly lower efficiencies than that of the CdS buffer based cell, the use of these materials would not be deleterious for the environment because of their non-carcinogenic and non-toxic nature.

Optoelectronic Enhancement of Ultrathin CuIn1–xGaxSe2 Solar Cells by Nanophotonic Contacts

CuIn1–xGaxSe2 (CIGSe) solar cells have achieved record efficiency values as high as 22.6% for small areas, with module efficiency values of 16.5%. However, for economic viability these values must be achieved with reduced material consumption (especially indium), which requires reducing the CIGSe absorber thickness from 2000–3000 nm to below 500 nm. Soft‐imprinted SiOx nanoparticles (NPs) beneath a conformal CIGSe layer enable this thickness reduction. Optically, they enhance the absorption of light through Fabry–Pérot and waveguided resonances within the CIGSe layer, preventing current loss. For CIGSe solar cells on ITO with an absorber thickness of only 390 nm and a nanophotonic contact the current density (Jsc) increases from 25.7 to 32.1 mA cm−2. At the same time, the nanopatterned contact reduces the back barrier, leading to an increased open‐circuit voltage (518 to 558 mV) and fill factor (50.7% to 55.2%). Combined, these effects increase the efficiency value from 6.8% to 10.0% for this initial demonstration. With the addition of an antireflection coating, the champion NP‐enhanced cell achieves a Jsc of 34.0 mA cm−2, corresponding to 93% of the Jsc achieved by the thick world‐record cell. This result shows that optoelectronic nanopatterning provides a path to high efficiency cells with reduced materials consumption.

Role of the intermediate phases InSe and Cu9(In1−xGax)4 in fabricating Cu(In1−xGax)Se2 films by selenization of Cu–In–Ga precursors

A cosputtered Cu–In–Ga metal precursor was first selenized in H2Se atmosphere, and then subsequently annealed in N2 atmosphere. The microstructural evolution of Cu(In1−xGax)Se2 (CIGS) films during thermal treatment was investigated, and it was found that the morphology and Ga distribution of the CIGS absorber were governed by selenization and annealing. The intermediate phases InSe and Cu9(In1−xGax)4 formed in the selenization step are beneficial to Ga diffusion and grain growth during annealing. Therefore, the open-circuit voltage and fill factor of a CIGS solar cell were enhanced by the combination of a sufficient amount of intermediate phases and 580 °C annealing, attributed mainly to the higher Ga content near the front surface and better crystallinity of the CIGS absorber. The conversion efficiency of CIGS solar cell was increased 1.24-fold with optimized selenization and annealing conditions.

Photon and carrier management design for nonplanar thin-film copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaics

Nonplanar structured photovoltaic absorber design has potential to achieve high solar cell efficiency with significantly reduced material use. We report optoelectronic simulations that highlight photon and generated carrier management opportunities for improvement of thin film Cu(InxGa1−x)Se2 (CIGS) device performance. Structures realized via either self-assembly or patterning via nanoimprint lithography, and also a combination of both are predicted to exhibit significant increases in short circuit current density and open circuit voltage simultaneously. The structures investigated include: 1) self-assembled nonplanar structures that strongly scatter incident light and enhance carrier generation near regions of high electric potential, 2) lithographically-patterned embedded periodic dielectric structures, 3) planar dielectric layers that separate the CIGS absorber from the molybdenum back-contact via reduced-area contacts that minimize optical and electronic losses, 4) a combination of these for combined effects. We find that the self-assembled nonplanar CIGS cells with 700nm planar equivalent thickness, combined with dielectric separation layers yield increases in short circuit current density and open circuit voltage up to 3.4mAcm−2 and 29mV, respectively. The absolute efficiency increases from 15.4% to 18.1%, compared to the predicted efficiency for planar CIGS thin film cells of equivalent thickness. The addition of a single layer MgF2 anti-reflection coating brings the maximum predicted efficiency up to 19.7% for randomly textured devices.

Characterization of vacancy defects in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 by positron annihilation spectroscopy

The photovoltaic performance of Cu(In1-x,Gax)Se2 (CIGS) materials is commonly assumed to be degraded by the presence of vacancy-related defects. However, experimental identification of specific vacancy defects remains challenging. In this work we report positron lifetime measurements on CIGS crystals with x = 0, and x = 0.05, saturation trapping to two dominant vacancy defect types, in both types of crystal, is observed and found to be independent of temperature between 15–300 K. Atomic superposition method calculations of the positron lifetimes for a range of vacancy defects in CIS and CGS are reported. The calculated lifetimes support the assignment of the first experimental lifetime component to monovacancy or divacancy defects, and the second to trivacancies, or possibly the large In-Se divacancy. Further, the calculated positron parameters obtained here provide evidence that positron annihilation spectroscopy has the capability to identify specific vacancy-related defects in the Cu(In1-x,Gax)Se2 chalcogenides.

Bifacial CIGS solar cells grown by Low Temperature Pulsed Electron Deposition

In this paper we report on the single stage deposition of CuInxGa1−xSe2 (CIGS)-based bifacial solar cells on glass coated with Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide (FTO) or Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) by single-stage low-temperature (250°C) pulsed electron deposition (LTPED).We show that the mechanism of Sodium incorporation during the low-temperature deposition of CIGS on both FTO and ITO leads to the formation of a stable n+/p+ ohmic tunnel junction and photovoltaic efficiencies exceeding 14% can be obtained without any intentional bandgap grading of CIGS.The significant degradation of the cell fill factor with decreasing CIGS thickness is found to be related to the presence of craters left behind by micro-fragments of CIGS target, which are weakly incorporated in the film during the LTPED growth and removed during the subsequent process steps. Evidence is also presented that the low-temperature deposition of CIGS on ITO leads to the formation of a Ga-rich CIGS layer at the interface and to an unintentional compositional grading propagating towards the active region of the solar cells. The defects associated with this grading may be responsible for the loss in FF and Voc with respect to the cells deposited on FTO and Mo back contacts.

Deposition of quaternary sputtered CIGS nanorods via glancing angle deposition

Nanostructured materials have become an attractive alternative to their thin film and bulk counterparts in photovoltaic and photoconductivity research. This is mainly attributed to their superior optical and electrical properties. Light trapping in vertically aligned nanostructures results in high optical absorption and provides enhanced carrier collection by utilizing a fully depleted p–n‐junction between the anode and cathode via an isolated ”capping” construction. The combination of these two features can potentially lead to the development of high efficiency nanostructured devices including solar cells, photodiodes, and photodetectors. Optical absorption proper ties of nanorod arrays of CuInx Ga1–xSe2 (CIGS), a p‐type semiconductor with a wide band gap ranging from 1.0 eV to 1.7 eV, are compared to their thin film counterpart. Utilizing an RF sputtering system, a quaternary target, and glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique, vertical arrays of CIGS nanorods were fabricated while conventional films were fabricated by normal incidence deposition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated a successful growth of CIGS nanorods. Optical absorption was found to be strongly altered by the presence of the nanorod structures through spectroscopic reflectometry. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Investigations on the mechanical properties of the elementary thin films composing a CuIn1 − xGaxSe2 solar cell using the nanoindentation technique

In this investigation, the mechanical properties of the different layers composing a CuIn1−xGaxSe2 (CIGS) based solar cell were studied. Magnetron sputtering technique was used for the deposition of these layers except for the cadmium sulphide (CdS) layer which was deposited using chemical bath deposition process. We performed several indentation tests on the individual layers, i.e. molybdenum (Mo) back contact layer, CIGS absorber layer, CdS and alternative zinc sulphide oxide (ZnOS) buffer layers, and zinc oxide (ZnO)-AZO (aluminium-doped zinc oxide) transparent window layer; all were deposited on glass substrates. We report the values of the hardness (H) and of the Young's modulus (E) for each material, using indentation tests and an analytical model. The Mo layer remained the hardest and the most rigid, with H=8.7GPa and E=185GPa, while the CIGS layer has shown poor mechanical properties with H=3GPa and E=58GPa. On the other hand, the observed similarity in mechanical properties of the ZnO and ZnOS layers might be attributed to the similarity of their microstructures.

Raman and Visible-Near Infrared Spectra of Cu(InGa)Se2 Films.

Cu(InxGa1-x)Se2(CIGS) precursor films were prepared on ITO glass with potentiostatic electrodeposition. High quality CIGS films were obtained by selenization of the precursor films at high temperature in tubular furnace full of argon gas. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure, morphology, composition and Vis-NIR absorption of CIGS films, respectively. XRD results show the selenized CIGS films have a preferential orientation (112) with average crystallite of 24.7 nm. Raman spectroscopy reveals that the CIGS films are pure quaternaryphases with chalcopyrite structure, and without binary or ternary phases in the films. Vis-NIR measurements determine that the bandgap of CIGS increases with the increase of Ga concentration in the film. When the Ga concentration is 5.41%, its bandgap is about 1.11 eV, and the calculated ratio of Ga to (Ga+In) is 16.3%, which is less than the ratio of Ga to (Ga+In), 21.4%, measured by SEM. This indicates that crystallinity of CIGS filmsneeds to be further improved. All the measurements demonstratethat optimum ITO/CIGS has a promising application in bifacial solar cells. In this paper, we provide a newmethodtoelectrodeposit low cost CIGS precursor films and a new method forselenization ofthe precursor films at high temperature. As a result, theuniform and compact CIGS films with good adhesion on ITO are successfully fabricated by these methods. The above characterization show that we have obtained CIGS films with high crystallinity, near stoichiometry, few impurity phases and superior light absorption. Electrodeposition, like magnetron sputtering, is very suitable for large-scale industrial production. The research work in this paper is therefore important and considerable to massive production of electrodeposition of CIGS films.

Direct comparison of atomic layer deposition and sputtering of In2O3:H used as transparent conductive oxide layer in CuIn1−xGaxSe2 thin film solar cells

In this study thin films of hydrogenated In2O3 (IOH) were fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD) with and without a post-annealing step, and by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The electro-optical properties on glass as well as the performance as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer in CuIn1−xGaxSe2 (CIGSe)-based solar cells are compared and related to a ZnO:Al (AZO) baseline TCO. Corresponding TCO film thicknesses were adjusted to a resulting sheet resistance of about Rsh = 20 Ω/sq for all samples. Structural investigations were conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), while Hall and optical absorption measurements were performed to analyze the electrical and optical quality of the window layers. It is shown that the fully crystallized IOH layers processed by ALD and PVD show similar microstructural and electro-optical properties, which are superior to the AZO baseline. The finalized solar cells were characterized by current-voltage and reflectance-corrected quantum efficiency measurements. While there is no significant gain in short circuit current density (Jsc) for as-deposited PVD In2O3 layers, the application of crystalline In2O3 TCOs leads to an improvement of more than 2mA/cm2 due to an increase in “optical” band gap energy and less free charge carrier absorption (FCA). The open circuit voltage (Voc) of the best cells is 10–15mV higher as compared to the AZO reference, independent of the crystallinity and process of the In2O3 films. The results indicate that the gain in Voc is due to inherent material properties of the IOH films and does not originate from less sputter damage or an affected i-ZnO/TCO interface. Device simulations show that the higher electron affinity χ of the IOH can explain an increased Voc if the Fermi level (EF) is pinned at the CIGSe/CdS interface and why it might not be possible to see the gain when alternative buffer layers are applied.

Investigation of factors limiting efficiency in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells during rapid evaporation process

Rapid evaporation is crucial in the low-cost manufacturing of Cu(InxGa1-x)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. This form of evaporation deteriorates cell performance in an open-circuit voltage and fill factor. Cell performance is strongly dependent on the deposition process and properties of the thin films. With respect to evaporation rates, analyses of electrical properties, film composition, grain structure, and phase characteristics were conducted to investigate limits on the efficiency of evaporated CIGS thin-film solar cells. CIGS solar cells evaporated at different deposition rates were compared. Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize the residual phases deteriorating the cell performance of these solar cells. Sodium (Na) profiles measured using secondary-ion mass spectrometry revealed that with higher CIGS evaporation rates, Na diffusion in the CIGS layers is lower. Rapidly evaporated CIGS led to two features, residual phases of the CIGS remained and Na concentrations near the surface were insufficient. This result implies that a shortfall in the p-type carrier density during rapid evaporation is a critical factor negatively affecting the efficiency of CIGS thin-film solar cells.

Effect of potassium fluoride post-deposition treatment on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films and solar cells fabricated onto sodalime glass substrates

In this study, we investigated the effect of potassium fluoride post-deposition treatment (KF-PDT) on Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 (CIGS) thin films and solar cells fabricated onto sodalime glass (SLG) substrates. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometery (SIMS) analysis showed that the K increased in the entire CIGS layer after KF-PDT, however Na seemed no change because of a large amount of K and Na diffused from SLG substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the KF-PDT depleted Cu, whereas increased K and Ga at the near surface CIGS layer, before the rinsing process. Removal of native oxides from KF-treated CIGS thin film was observed based on rinsing solutions. Ammonia aqueous solution removed Ga compounds more efficiently from KF-treated CIGS thin film than that of distilled water. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) revealed that the carrier lifetime and PL intensity greatly increased after KF-PDT, resulting in the reduction of photo-generated carrier recombination. The Voc loss (Eg/q-Voc) decreased from 0.52 to around 0.44V for KF-treated CIGS solar cells with band gap (Eg) of 1.06–1.23eV. Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) analysis indicated that the effective carrier collection of the CIGS solar cells widened toward the Mo back-contact side after KF-PDT. This phenomenon could be attributed to the increase in carrier lifetime. C-V measurements suggested that KF-PDT not only increased hole concentration but also passivated bulk defects.

CIGS absorbing layers prepared by RF magnetron sputtering from a single quaternary target

Cu(In1−xGax)Se2 (CIGS) thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering from a single quaternary target at multiple processing parameters. The structural, compositional, and electrical properties of the as-deposited films were systematically investigated by XRD, Raman, SEM, and Hall effects analysis. The results demonstrate that by adjusting the processing parameters, the CIGS thin films with a preferential orientation along the (112) direction which exhibited single chalcopyrite phase were obtained. The films deposited at relatively higher substrate temperature, sputtering power, and Ar pressure exhibited favorable stoichiometric ratio (Cu/(In+Ga):0.8–0.9 and Ga/(In+Ga):0.25–0.36) with grain size of about 1–1.5µm, and desirable electrical properties with p-type carrier concentration of 1016−1017cm−3 and carrier mobility of 10–60cm2/Vs. The CIGS layers are expected to fabricate high efficiency thin film solar cells.

The fabrication and characterization of wide‐bandgap MgZnO:Ga TCO layer via co‐sputtering technique for CIGS solar cells

ABSTRACTMgZnO:Ga films were deposited on the glass by RF magnetron sputtering. Effects of growth temperature (from room temperature to 200°C) on the electrical, optical, and structural properties of MgZnO:Ga films were investigated. Depending on increasing of growth temperature, the films showed a low resistivity of 1.15 × 10−3 Ω‐cm. The optimized MgZnO:Ga films exhibited a high transmittance over 85% in the near‐ultraviolet and visible region. Also, the performance of CuIn1 − xGaxSe2 (CIGS) photovoltaic device fabricated with MgZnO:Ga transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer was improved by higher band gap and outstanding electron mobility. Improved short circuit current has resulted in high performance of device with energy conversion efficiency (ηe) of 10.2%. Therefore, the high conductivity and optical transmission by MgZnO:Ga films are applied to optoelectronic device as vital characteristics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:1894–1897, 2016

Chalcogenide solar cells fabricated by co-sputtering of quaternary CuIn0.75Ga0.25Se2 and In targets: Another promising sputtering route for mass production

In this work, Cu(In1−xGax)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layer is fabricated via radio-frequency sputtering of standard quaternary CuIn0.75Ga0.25Se2 target. In order to achieve the desired Cu-poor absorber film stoichiometry, which is crucial for the device performance, indium is supplied simultaneously with the CIGS deposition by direct current sputtering of indium target for the first time. The influences of sputtering power on composition, structure of the CIGS absorber films and the performances of related solar cells are systematically investigated. The precursor absorber film exhibits uniform and compact surface morphology without peeling and cracking. After selenized in a tube-type rapid thermal processing system under a Se atmosphere, the CIGS absorber layer possesses columnar grains with preferred (112) orientation. Photoelectric measurements of the most efficient device with CdS buffer and ZnO window layer reveals a short-circuit current of 32.02 mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 532 mV, and a fill factor of 60.5 under standard conditions. The efficiency of up to 10.29% on 0.35 cm2 area without antireflection coating has been achieved. Our new sputtering route shows great potential for practical applications of thin film CIGS solar cells with in-line sputtering processes.

An investigation into the effects of band gap and doping concentration on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell efficiency.

A simulation study of a Cu(In1 − xGax)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cell has been carried out with maximum efficiency of 24.27 % (Voc = 0.856 V, Jsc = 33.09 mA/cm2 and FF = 85.73 %). This optimized efficiency is obtained by determining the optimum band gap of the absorber and varying the doping concentration of constituent layers. The Ga content denoted by x = Ga/(In + Ga) is selected as 0.35 which provides the optimum band gap of absorber layer as 1.21 eV. Theoretically, the effects of Ga fraction “x” on CIGS absorber band gap are investigated and to avoid the lattice mismatch effect, the efficiency measurements due to the CIGS band gaps >1.21 eV have not come to the consideration. A one-dimensional simulator ADEPT/F 2.1 has been used to analyze the fabricated device parameters and hence to calculate open circuit voltage, short circuit current, fill factor and efficiency.

Parameterized complex dielectric functions of CuIn1−xGaxSe2: applications in optical characterization of compositional non‐uniformities and depth profiles in materials and solar cells

AbstractIn‐situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) was employed to extract the complex dielectric functions ε = ε1 + iε2 over the spectral range of 0.75–6.5 eV for a set of polycrystalline CuIn1−xGaxSe2 (CIGS) thin films with different alloy compositions x = [Ga]/{[In] + [Ga]}. For highest possible accuracy in ε for each CIGS thin film, specialized SE procedures were adopted including (i) deposition to a thickness of ~600 Å on smooth native oxide covered crystal silicon wafers, which minimizes the surface roughness on the film and thus the required corrections in data analysis, and (ii) measurement in‐situ, which minimizes ambient contamination and oxidation of the film surface. Assuming an analytical form for each of the ε spectra for these CIGS films, oscillator parameters were obtained in best fits, and these parameters were fit in turn to polynomials in x. With the resulting database of polynomial coefficients, the ε spectra for any composition of CIGS can be generated from the single parameter, x. In addition to enabling accurate contactless determination of bulk and surface roughness layer thicknesses of CIGS films by high speed multichannel SE, the database enables characterization of the composition and its profile with depth into these films, and even how the depth profile varies spatially within the plane of the films. In this study, depth profile parameters were found to correlate spatially with solar cell performance parameters. As a result, SE provides the capability of contactless compositional analysis of production‐scale CIGS photovoltaic modules at high speed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.