Direct measurements of band gap grading in polycrystalline CIGS solar cells

We present direct measurements of depth-resolved band gap variations of CuIn(1-x)Ga(x)Se2 thin-film solar cell absorbers. A new measurement technique combining parallel measurements of local thin-film interference and spectral photoluminescence was developed for this purpose. We find sample-dependent correlation parameters between measured band gap depth and composition profiles, and emphasize the importance of direct measurements. These results bring a quantitative insight into the electronic properties of the solar cells and open a new way to analyze parameters that determine the efficiency of solar cells.