Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co. Ltd. (TOK) and IBM are collaborating to jointly develop processes, materials and equipment suitable for the production of copper indium gallium selenide solar cells and modules.
IBM Research has developed new, non-vacuum, solution-based manufacturing processes for CIGS solar cells and is targeting efficiencies around 15% and higher. Combining IBM's technology with the proven coating techniques and high-purity chemicals of TOK has the potential to bring the large-scale production of thin-film solar cells to market, the companies say.
‘Our goal is to develop more efficient photovoltaic structures that would reduce the cost, minimize the complexity and improve the flexibility of producing solar electric power,’ says Dr. Tze-Chiang Chen, vice president of science and technology with IBM Research.
SOURCE: IBM
