OPTIMIZATION OF A BACK SURFACE CONTACT COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM SELENIDE (CIGS) THIN FILM SOLAR CELL WITH NEARLY ORTHOGONAL LATIN HYPERCUBE AND SILVACO

This thesis focuses on the optimization of a novel design back surface contact (BSC) copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS). It introduces the Nearly Orthogonal Latin Hypercube (NOLH) design of experiments as a means of optimizing parameters to be entered into Silvaco ATLAS simulation software. By introducing a vertical p-n junction within the bulk of the solar cell the separation of charges was promoted, and with the BSC layout shadowing effects were negated. Due to these changes the optimized cell efficiency was found to be 27.1%, a relative increase of 11.5% from the previous optimal designs of prior theses. The NOLH generated data that could be run in parallel, significantly reducing simulation time, as well as giving a better understanding of the relationship between parameters within the solar cell. The NOLH design of experiments is the next step for all solar cell optimization efforts. The implications of the high-efficiency, lightweight design of the BSC CIGS solar cell ranges from terrestrial to celestial and everywhere in between. From lightweight comms recharge capabilities to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) power sources, and even satellites, the potential for CIGS are endless.